Genesis
by XTheSonofHadesX
Summary: Two years. Two long years. How much can really change in such a small spanse of time for Percy Jackson? More than he had ever expected. His kind is now exposed, his world turned upside down. Can he fix it all? Can he save those he cares about? But who will save him from himself? *Sequel to Choke*
1. Chapter 1

_About time, right? I promised this would be out maybe two months ago, and it didn't happen. Well, I had to rewrite the next two chapters, so it set me back. But it's finally here, so be happy. As you'll notice, it's style is drastically different, possibly improved, from that of Choke. That would be because it's been a year since I started Choke, and about half a year since I finished it. And, since then, a lot has changed with my writing. I hope you like Genesis. I don't know how long it will be, I'm estimating around 25 chapters. It already has been a little taxing on me, but I will persevere through it. It will be darker than Choke was, as you will see right away in this. I do hope you like it. Now then, let's talk about a few other things._

_This, Children, and Shadows are currently my only stories. I've decided to put Dreams on a hiatus, with the possibility of it just being discontinued. It's very taxing to write, and I just can't get myself motivated to write it. I wrote a chapter of Shadows, around 20 pages, in half the time it took me to write 6 pages of Dreams. Also, for reasons I will be discussing very soon, Shadows and Children will be my primary focuses, so good news for all of you that love those stories._

_I think that's about it. Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, Bragi did write a fic as a belated birthday present for me. It's short and fluffy, but I didn't want him to crush my OTP for my birthday present. And, finally, I'm planning to write a very good chapter for Children, as all of you exceeded my expectations with the review count(I'm currently on 34 reviews for the latest chapter). So, I want it to be really great for you guys. Anyways, that's all for now, I hope you enjoy the story, and I'll see you at the end._

_Warning: Language. Slash(boyxboy). Dark themes. Mentions of drugs. Possible alcohol. And other things that we will discuss later._

_Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO._

Chapter 1

Tan fingers trailed over soft, pale flesh, fascinated by the way the sun was shining on the skin. Percy smiled when he heard the other occupant of the bed hum in satisfaction. His eyes trailed up the pale skin of his boyfriend, until he caught sight of the young man's smile. Long pale fingers reached up to tangle in Percy's hair.

"Having fun?"

Percy nodded, smiling to himself. "I'm glad you stayed. I don't think I could have handled everything without you around. You and the others, you're my family now."

Nico smiled and beckoned him down for a kiss with his finger. Percy smiled and obliged, leaning down to press their lips together. When they separated, Percy kept their faces close, staring into Nico's dark brown eyes. Nico's lips twitched and tilted down. He brushed some of Percy's black hair out of his face.

"If I were to ever leave, you'd come find me, right?"

Percy nodded eagerly. "Of course. I'd search the ends of the earth to find you."

Nico gave him a warm smile. "And never give up?" He asked with interest, watching Percy's reaction.

The green-eyed young man shook his head. Nico raised a hand to cup Percy's face and the young man pressed a kiss to the pale palm. "Never," Percy whispered.

"Percy!"

Percy's brow furrowed and he raised a hand to his head. His eyes darted wildly around the room. Something was wrong. This wasn't right. His eyes grew panicked as Nico's skin began to turn grey and ashy. Slowly, Nico's entire body was covered in it. Percy's breathing began to pick up and he made to grab for Nico, which only made his body crumple into ash.

"Find me," Nico's voice whispered in his head.

"Percy!"

Dull green eyes snapped open and blinked a few times. Ash and dirt blew in the wind around him, some landing on his face. He didn't bother to wipe it off, as he knew his face was probably covered in the stuff by now. He stared down at his hands, where he clutched a burnt, ash covered stuffed bear.

"There you are, Percy."

Percy slowly turned his head to find a short young man with curly black hair and dark brown eyes making his way towards Percy. The problem was that it wasn't the head of hair he had been hoping for. The Latino stood in front of him, looking down at him in concern. His slightly pointed ears poked out from his mass of curly hair. His old mischievous smile was gone, replaced by a heavy frown. Even though some time had passed, the guy still had a youthful looking face.

"You need to come back now, Percy," Leo said quietly.

Percy's shoulders slumped a little. His gaze left Leo's face and slowly trailed across his surroundings. He sat on a pile of rubble, probably from an old house. Skyscrapers lay in ruin in the distance. The sky was grey today, completely covered by clouds. And even though it had been two years, the smell of smoke and fire was still in the air.

He stared down at some of the rubble around him. A human skeleton lay under what had probably been a roof. The flesh had long since been seared from the body. The bear in Percy's hands fell to the ground as the green-eyed young man clutched at his head.

"Percy," Leo said softly. "You need to stop torturing yourself like this, man. What are you doing out here anyways?"

Percy's hands fell into his lap, his gaze lowered so that his eyes were hidden from Leo. His dirty hair, which needed to be cut, hung down into his eyes. "Waiting."

Leo sighed and nodded. "You're only hurting yourself doing this, Percy. It's been a year-"

"I know how long it has been!" The ash and rubble around Percy was shoved away from the troubled youth. Percy's hands started to shake. He swallowed and lowered his voice. "He's still out there, I know it."

Leo let out a long breath. "Come on, you need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Percy mumbled.

Leo reached out and touched the green-eyed young man's shoulder, who stiffened upon contact. "He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. Come on."

The pupils of Percy's eyes spread out across his eyes. "Go away," he rasped out.

Leo's hand jerked back and he began awkwardly walking away. "Percy. Percy!" He winced. "Percy, stop!"

Percy's eyes retracted to their normal green color. Leo came to a stop. He let his head drop. "Sorry."

Leo rubbed at his arm. "S'alright." The Latino boy sighed. "Will you please come back? Everyone's starting to worry."

Percy rubbed at his eyes before standing up. He nodded his head and the two made their way away from the destroyed neighborhood, stumbling over rubble and debris from time to time. "Did something happen?" Percy asked, trying to distract himself.

Leo blew out a breath as they climbed into the truck that Leo had brought. "Annabeth can fill you in a bit better." He turned his head to stare at Percy's face. "You could use a shower, dude." He smirked, hoping to cheer Percy up, but the young man remained solemn. The Latino's brow furrowed. "Have you been sleeping?"

Percy shrugged. "Not very much. Don't really like my dreams that much."

"You've been dreaming about him again, haven't you?" He swallowed as he studied Percy's face. "You're not...seeing things, are you?"

Percy sighed and turned a cold stare on Leo. "I'm not crazy, Leo."

"Just hearing voices in your head, no big deal." The Latino winced, receiving a punch in the arm. "Just joking, man. Besides, you're a telepath."

"It's a little different." Percy stared out at the road ahead of them. The road was cracked and filled with broken cars and other junk, with a thick layer of ash covering it. The imprints of human bodies were still scorched into some of the walls that had managed not to collapse. "I'm just having a hard time distinguishing my thoughts from his."

Percy turned his gaze to his window, watching as the destroyed city faded away. The depressing scene before him slowly began to shift as they entered the countryside. Perhaps he shouldn't go into the cities. The world wasn't as devastating to look at from the country.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Leo asked.

Percy pursed his lips. "Not particularly."

"You need to talk to someone."

An abandoned car flew across the road and tumbled into the woods. Leo gulped and looked away from Percy. "I was talking to someone about it."

"He-When Nico doesn't want to be found, you're not going to find him, Percy."

Percy's hands clenched into fists. "So he doesn't want me to find him?" The green-eyed young man growled.

Leo shifted away from Percy, even though the taller young man didn't need to be able to physically touch him to hurt him. "I didn't say that, man. But, it has been a year. Maybe it's time-"

"No!"

Leo sighed and nodded his head. "Just calm down, all right? You've got people watching you, so you don't need them freaking out."

Percy's eyes traveled up, realizing they had reached home. Had they really been driving for an hour? With Leo's driving, perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. Leo parked the car and the two of them climbed out of the truck. Percy stood there for a moment, taking in the home he had helped build over the past two years.

Yosemite National Park was their home now. Percy and the others had slowly made their way out west when Zeus decided to attempt to wipe the world clean of everyone "normal". They had been fortunate enough to get enough notification from Athena in order to get to Percy's parents' old lab. But, the lab had ended up destroyed. They had held up there for a while, but when Zeus began his raids, Percy got him and his friends out of there.

As they traveled, they picked up a lot of other survivors, all looking for a place to try and survive. Some of them were normal people, but a good many of them were Specials, and even one Omega. But Percy and Nico had both started to become unhinged; Percy with Kronos in his head, and Nico had begun to grow angry with himself and the world.

Percy and Leo took off walking through their little community. Several cabins had been here when they arrived, but, since their arrival, they had constructed more homes from pine trees and stone. There was also a hospital that they had made use of since their arrival. There was a store in the park as well, which people kept stocked with supplies that they scavenged and game that they killed while hunting. A green house had been built for them to grow crops, but they also had plenty of farmland just outside of their community to provide for them.

A few people stopped to wave and smile at Percy and Leo as they passed. Leo threw on a smile, while Percy only gave small nods. It wasn't a secret that Percy was often in a foul mood these days, so most people just left him be. A lot of Percy's friends had taken up responsibilities for overseeing things around their community, which only gave Percy more time to think.

They walked up to the old ranger station and walked inside. They had installed a control panel against a wall shortly after their arrival. Leo punched in the code and the space on the floor that they occupied began to descend. Percy stared ahead, watching as each sequence of lights passed them by, fully aware that Leo was watching him.

A white door slid open in front of them, revealing their new lab. A holographic woman appeared in front of them. The A.I. had upgraded herself since their time in New York, and now appeared human, if not for the fact that one could still see through her. She had long black hair and intense grey eyes, which had a small ring of data around her irises. His parents had designed her to look very beautiful, and that had still not changed.

"Hey, Athena," Percy greeted the AI.

"Welcome back, Percy."

Leo had fixed her up so that she could project herself anywhere in the lab. With the help of their new Omega, a girl named Hazel, they had managed to build a new lab for Athena under the forest. Leo and some of the others had gone around and pulled the equipment they needed from the surrounding cities. It took them a year to complete it and set it up, but it had been more than worth it in the end.

A few others were in the lab already, probably waiting to talk to Percy. But the two he was most interested in were standing in front of the large computer and monitor in the room. A tall blonde girl with curly hair was typing away on a holographic keyboard. Her calculating grey eyes never left a projected monitor above the keyboard. She was fairly tan and fit looking, and she had also developed callouses on her fingers, after working on her battle suit for so long.

Next to her, stood a girl with long, straight black hair. She had a pale face with chestnut colored eyes. She was rather short, not even reaching Percy's shoulders. Her cheeks were slightly sunken in, and one might think that she was malnourished, but that really was how she normally looked. She was busy moving the map on the monitor around.

Percy came to stand behind the two of them and placed his hands on his hips. "Lou, report."

The dark haired girl stiffened at hearing his voice. She slowly turned around to peer up at him. "I still can't find him, Percy, I'm sorry."

Percy rubbed his mouth. "Well try harder."

The blonde next to Lou gave Percy a cold look. "We're trying as hard as we can, Percy. Perhaps you need to accept that Nico isn't coming back. It is possible he has moved on."

Percy returned her cold gaze with one of his own. "I said find him. Or was that not clear, Annabeth?"

The girl sighed and shook her head. "You're only hurting yourself, but whatever."

Several pieces in the lab started to shake. Annabeth and Percy continued to glare at each other, neither wanting to back down. Lou and Leo scooted away from them, not wanting to get caught up in their fight.

"That's enough, both of you!"

The room calmed down as the tall young man turned to face a girl with frizzy red hair. Her green eyes bore into him, daring him to challenge her. She had freckles dotting her face and worn looking clothing. Her hands, arms, and parts of her clothes were covered with doodles and drawings, all which probably had some meaning.

"Are you two done acting like children?" The girl asked.

"I'm just asking they do their job," Percy grumbled.

Annabeth locked her jaw. "At least we are doing something besides sitting around, moping."

Percy glared at his friend, but Rachel held up her hand. "I said enough." The girl sighed. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you."

"I found him in the city," Leo voiced.

Rachel looked at Percy with concern. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Percy, you need to let it go. He's not coming back."

Percy's lips thinned. "Did you see that?"

Rachel sighed. "No. I don't see much of Nico anymore," she whispered.

Percy stared down at the seer. "What have you seen?"

She sighed. She lightly shook her head. "I can't really say, to be honest. It's fuzzy, and his future seems to be dimming."

Percy could feel his heart start to race. "Is he going to die?" He demanded, getting a grip on Rachel's arm.

"I don't know, Percy," she said softly. "But he disappeared for a reason, you have to remember that."

"Yeah, he was devastated about Chiron."

Percy glanced beyond Rachel to see a head of curly blond hair sitting on a couch, with another blond propping his feet on the first blond's lap. The curly haired blond had deep cerulean eyes, which reminded Percy of two sapphires sparkling in the sun. His normal cocky smile was gone, replaced by thinly pressed lips. He had perfectly tan skin and a lean body.

Rachel pressed her lips together. "There was nothing that could have been done, Apollo. Zeus got to him first."

"Does that make you feel better, telling yourself that?" Asked the second blond.

He had short blond hair and electric blue eyes. A small scar sat on the corner of his lip, which he had acquired during their escape from New York. He had tan skin, just like his boyfriend. He had an athletic build, and, while he was Zeus's son, he looked nothing like his father. He was tall, having grown to Percy's height over the past two years.

"I'm just being realistic," Rachel mumbled.

Percy sighed. "Will someone just tell me what is so important that I have to hear it?" He turned around to face Annabeth. "Leo said you would be better to hear it from."

Annabeth clicked a button on her holographic keyboard and it vanished. She turned around to face Percy. "Yes, it seems we have a problem." She picked up a folder on a nearby table and handed it to Percy. "Some of our people have reported a group of people scouring the cities."

Percy flipped through the folder, skimming through the pages. "And you think they could be dangerous to us?"

The blonde nodded. "I think they are Special hunters. While we are well defended here, it is a concern that needed to be addressed."

Percy pursed his lips and nodded his head, his eyes still scanning the contents of the folder. "Do we have any idea how many?" He asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "No, but you should talk to Frank. It was his party that spotted them."

"Thankfully, they weren't spotted as well," Jason added.

"At least we hope not," Leo countered. Jason nodded his head.

Percy turned the page in the folder and his brow furrowed. In front of him was an odd photo of a section of a map. It had been labeled to be around San Francisco, but the section of the map looked weird. He turned the folder around and pointed at the picture. "What is this?"

Lou blew out a breath. "We're not sure." She waved her hand and the image on the screen shifted to the section of San Francisco that was in Percy's folder. "Whatever it is, it has been rebuilt since the bombings."

Apollo frowned and pushed Jason's legs out of his lap. He stood up and walked closer to the monitor. "It's a rather large facility," the blond pointed out.

Percy's brow furrowed. He turned to Athena. "Do you know anything about this?"

Athena turned from Percy to the screen. "I do not know much. They seem to have strong defenses on what computers they do have there." She pursed her lips. "There are no Specials there, at least none that I can identify. But there does seem to be a lot of activity going on there, I just do not know what it is yet.

Percy rubbed at his mouth, letting the hand with the folder drop to his side. "I want some people to go check it out."

Jason nodded. "I'll get Clarisse on it. She's wanted to get out for a while now."

Percy ran a hand into the back of his hair. "Good. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, you should get some rest," Rachel instructed.

Percy lightly chuckled and placed the folder back on the table. "I'm fine."

Apollo frowned at him. "She's right, Percy, you need some rest. You look exhausted," the blond countered. He walked forward and placed his hand on Percy's back. "Come on, let's get you some rest."

Percy opened his mouth to protest, but everyone shot him a warning glare. He sighed and nodded his head in defeat. He let himself be led out of the lab, where he and Apollo boarded the elevator. Apollo hit a series of buttons and they began to travel back up to the surface.

"Don't listen to Annabeth and Rachel, Percy," the blond whispered.

Percy glanced up from the ground to stare at Apollo in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Apollo sighed and ran a hand through his curls. "I've known Nico long enough to know he wouldn't just vanish like that for no good reason."

"You think something's wrong?"

The blond shrugged. "Maybe. He really cared about you, Percy. So, I know he wouldn't just leave without saying something to you. He didn't even tell Jason." He turned to look at Percy. "He was just upset, you know that."

"He did," Percy whispered. Apollo looked at him in confusion. "Say something to me that is. Before he left, he told me he wanted to try and go spy on Zeus's new headquarters in Los Angeles." Percy sighed. "I shouldn't have let him go. I knew it was a bad idea. He was just angry about the loss of Chiron."

Apollo placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You couldn't have known, dude."

The elevator came to a stop and the two exited the ranger station. He spotted a group of people, a few of whom he wished to speak to. The first was a big, tall girl with short, string dirty blonde hair. She had pig-like brown eyes and reminded Percy of a small ox. Her usual sneer was in place on her lips. The girl had become slightly more savage since her time in U.N.I.T., also shown from the choice to cut her hair short.

Next to her stood a muscular young man with short black hair and brown eyes. He was of a Hispanic origin and was rather tall. He had a crooked smile and a mischievous look in his eyes. Percy and the others had come across him on their journey from New York.

Across from them stood a second couple. The girl was of average height, coming up to the shoulder of her boyfriend next to her. Percy and the others had found her upon arriving in California. She had been transported to America from South Africa by Zeus before the bombings. But, after the attacks and during the raids, she had managed to escape with a few other Specials. She had shoulder-length curly golden-brown hair and hazel eyes, which could almost pass for gold. With a mixture of her appearance and her personality, she reminded Percy of a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Next to her, stood a tall Asian guy. He had a large and stocky build, and, mixed with his face, he reminded Percy of a koala with muscles. His eyes were a light brown and his black hair was cut short in a military haircut. Unlike the large girl across from him, he had left U.N.I.T. upon Zeus gaining control of it.

Percy came to a stop near them. Apollo frowned at him, but he ignored it. "Clarisse, Frank, can you two come here for a second?" He called over.

The tall girl sneered at him. "What do you want, Jackson?"

Percy's eyes darkened. "Did I stutter, Clarisse? I said, come here."

Clarisse huffed and dragged the raven haired young man next to her over to Percy. The Asian guy snickered at her, while taking the girl next to him's hand and walking to Percy. "What's up, Percy?" He asked.

"Frank, Annabeth says you spotted that group of strangers," Percy said, keeping his eyes locked with the guy in front of him.

Frank nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure how many there might have been. I think I spotted about ten."

Percy nodded. He turned his gaze on Clarisse. "Would you mind going somewhere for me?"

The girl smirked at him and cracked her knuckles. "Just tell me where to go."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I need you to take a few people and head up to San Francisco." He nodded his head back towards the ranger station. "Talk to Jason and Annabeth, they can fill you in more."

Clarisse turned to the guy next to her. "Come on, we got a job to do."

Percy shook his head. "No, Chris stays here. You know I need him on lookout."

Clarisse glared at Percy, but let go of her boyfriend and stomped off, grumbling to herself. Chris chuckled. "Sometimes, I don't think she likes my power."

Percy gave a small smirk. "Just make sure to keep an eye out for these people," he instructed.

Chris nodded. He tossed a wave to the Asian and his girlfriend before soundlessly gliding into the air and flying off. "You look exhausted, Percy," Frank commented.

Percy sighed. He rubbed his face before turning to the girl next to Frank. "How are things coming, Hazel?"

She gave him a weak smile. "Better. Now that we have Athena up and working, construction has improved. Some of the others were talking about building a make-shift school, since we already have it."

Percy gave a nod. "That sounds fine. I'll see to it that you have everything you need," he said. Apollo tugged on his arm. Percy sighed. "Before I go, do you know if I need to talk to Reyna or Katie about anything?"

Hazel shook her head. "Not that I know of. I'll have them come talk to you if they do."

Apollo began to drag Percy away. "Tomorrow, if you please. He needs to get some rest."

Frank and Hazel chuckled and waved after the two of them. Percy frowned down at the hand that was wrapped around his wrist. It was warm, and that was the problem. It wasn't _his_ hand. Nico's body was usually cold to the touch. The brown-eyed boy always complained that he couldn't ever get warm, so he always clung to Percy while they slept.

Apollo stopped in front of Percy's cabin and arched an eyebrow, holding out his hand. Percy rolled his eyes and pulled out his key from his pocket. The blond smirked and snatched it before unlocking the door. The two stepped inside and Apollo turned on the lights. Apollo sighed at the sight of Percy's cabin.

"You need to do some cleaning, Percy," the blond pointed out.

Percy shrugged as he slipped out of his shoes. "I don't have anyone to impress."

Apollo frowned at him. "Percy, don't talk like that. We'll find him."

Percy gave a weak nod. He smiled at Apollo. "Thanks, for all of this. You guys have been a huge help, and I know I'm not always appreciative of everything you guys do." He sighed. "I need...I can't...It's just hard, you know?"

Apollo nodded. "Is this about Nico, or about the other thing?"

"Both."

The blond leaned against the counter in Percy's kitchen, while Percy reclined on his couch. "Is it getting worse?"

Percy shrugged. "Just harder to distinguish who is really doing the thinking."

"If I say something, do you promise not to get mad?" The blond asked.

Percy nodded. "Shoot."

The blond took a deep breath. "Well, you're not the same, Percy. I think that much is obvious. You're a lot different from when I first met you. And, I think I speak for everyone when I say, we're worried about you." He crossed his arms. "That thing back in the lab, snapping at Lou and fighting with Annabeth, that wasn't you. At least not until Kronos got in your head."

Percy sat up on the couch. "I know. I'm trying, I really am." The green-eyed young man ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't know how to fight this. How do you fight someone who is supposed to be dead?"

Apollo swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't know," he said softly. The blond stood up straight and walked back to the door. "Get some rest, Percy. Try not to think about all of this for once. You need a break, dude."

Percy gave him a lopsided smile. "I'll try."

Apollo smirked back at him. "I'll have the cabin watched. I don't want you coming out until tomorrow."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes, father," he mocked.

The blond smiled and walked out the door. Percy turned his wrist and the door locked itself. He stood up and stretched before dragging himself towards his bedroom. He wasn't hungry, he rarely was. He turned his lights on telekinetically as he entered the room, turning the ones off in the living room in the process.

He went to his bathroom and went about brushing his teeth. When he raised up from spitting his toothpaste out, he stared at the mirror for a moment. He frowned at his reflection, fighting the desire to break the mirror.

His hair had grown out a little, now hanging just past his eyes. It looked dirty and messy. His eyes looked dull and nearly lifeless as he stared at them, and had adapted a dark look to them. He rarely smiled anymore, at least not genuine ones. He was still very tall and tan, but he had lost a few pounds in the last two years, mostly after Nico's disappearance. He did still have a lean build, but he had noticed his pants had become a little looser. He had dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep.

Percy covered his face with his hand and stepped away from the mirror. He plopped down on his bed with a heavy sigh. While no one ever said it, he couldn't help but feel responsible for everything that had happened to the world. After all, it was just like his dream had said: he went with Nico, so the world was destroyed. Kronos had been right, Percy could admit that now.

And where was Nico anyways? His boyfriend had vanished a year ago. He had said that he wanted to go spy on Zeus and that he wouldn't be long. How long did Nico actually classify as not long? Percy didn't know what to think.

Had Nico abandoned him? Did he blame Percy for all of this? Had he found someone else? Did he not have romantic feelings for Percy anymore? Or worse, had something happened to him? Percy didn't know. He honestly didn't know, and that was what hurt him the most. He couldn't help but lay awake at night worrying over what might have happened to Nico. When Percy realized something might be wrong, it was too late. Lou hadn't even been able to locate him anywhere in the world.

So Percy didn't know how to feel about Nico's disappearance. He didn't know if he should be hurt, angry, or worried. But he did know that he wanted to find Nico. He needed to find Nico. Something big was going to happen, Percy could feel it. And, this time, he wasn't going to have the help of an organization or his parents to back him up. He needed all the help he could get, and that included his missing boyfriend.

He couldn't let Zeus win and get away with all he had done, Percy knew that. That was why Percy came to California, to stop him. To make the man answer for his crimes, for all the deaths that he had caused. The man had destroyed the world, and for that, he would die.

He didn't know what would happen. He couldn't. But he did know that this wouldn't be their end. This was their beginning. This was their genesis.

* * *

_So, how was that for a first chapter? That's what has been going on with Percy for the past two years, he's been going a little crazy. Nico is missing, and I'm sure you all want to know where he is. You'll have to stay tuned for that one. Zeus pretty much nuked the planet and has gathered an army of Specials. Oh, and before I forget, for any that were confused about Jason's dad and Zeus: Zeus is his biological father, but he was adopted. The man that died at the end of Choke was his adoptive father. Anyways, I hope you liked it, and I hope you enjoy this story. Let me know what you think. Let me hear some thoughts and what you think might happen. Anyways, I'm gonna go, and I'll see you all later._


	2. Chapter 2

_A month can sure fly by, eh? So, I'm glad all of you seem to like the story so far. And, for those of you iffy with Percy's personality change, just stay tuned. He has had a lot going on in his life, but maybe things will get better. As far as why hasn't he gone looking for Nico, you have to keep in mind that Percy has been cracking down on Lou, Athena, and Leo to find him. But Percy has no idea even where to look. And he has a whole camp to manage, so it's not something so simple. And life never is. As for the opening of last chapter, the dust thing with Nico was just symbolic. Nico never turned to dust in real life. And, yes, I am evil for the whole Nico thing._

_But fret not, he will return soon. Obviously I won't say when, though. You'll just have to stay tuned. I'm sure you will all love it, though. Well...maybe...Mwhaha. Anyways, let us commence with the chapter._

_Warning: You know, I can't really think of anything for this chapter. Slash, as usual. Language, as always._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 2

Green eyes stared up at rich green leaves blowing in the wind. The sun shined down above him, a nice change from yesterday. Percy let his eyes close, enjoying the wind blowing against his face. It was quiet, peaceful, nice. The grass swayed against his cheek as he continued to lay there, the only sound being that of the wind blowing and his breathing.

His tongue darted out to wet his chapped lips. He had lost track of time, and was no longer aware of how long he had been out there, but he didn't care. It was nice out, and he just wanted to enjoy a moment of peace.

The sun had barely begun to rise when he left his cabin this morning, and now it was looming directly overhead. He hadn't slept very well last night, his dreams consumed with a head of messy black hair and dark, deep brown eyes.

Part of him knew he needed to move on, but then why did it feel so hard? He just couldn't get his boyfriend off his mind. It was the big unanswered question, just looming there. What had happened to Nico? Would he ever get the answer to that question?

Percy's forehead crinkled when something appeared above him, blocking out the sun. His eyes peered open to find a head of curly brown hair. His lips tilted up at the sight of Grover before grunting and flinging himself up into a sitting position.

His friend sat down beside him, picking at some of the grass. They were nearly the same height, Grover only a couple of inches shorter than him. The young man still had his goatee, and even managed to keep tidy. Grover's brown eyes darted over to Percy, watching him with concern.

"What are you doing out here, man?"

Percy rubbed at his face before shrugging, letting himself fall back into the grass. "Couldn't sleep, thought I'd come out here for a while. Apparently I shouldn't go into the city, so I needed a place I could go and think."

Grover turned his attention to the grass, pulling up a few blades of the green stuff. "Do you want to talk about it?" Percy turned his head to look at his friend. "I'm assuming it was about Nico?"

The green-eyed young man's eyes grew dull. "Yeah," he mumbled. "It doesn't matter, it won't change anything."

Grover blinked down at him. "It might help clear your head. You keep your thoughts to yourself too much nowadays. It's not good for you, brother."

The raven haired youth slid himself up against the tree behind them and pulled his legs up. "I can handle my own problems, Grover." He let his head fall back against the bark and his eyes closed. "If I can't handle my own issues, why should others trust me with theirs?"

"Everyone needs a little help, Perce."

Percy opened his eyes and watched as Grover picked up a stick before using it to draw in the dirt. "My only issue is how I can't seem to let him go. I just keep expecting to go into my cabin one day and find him there, like nothing ever happened."

Grover turned towards his friend, brow furrowed. His lips tilted down as he looked the other over for a moment, still continuing his piece of art in the dirt. "Why do you want to let him go? Don't tell me you're starting to believe Annabeth and Rachel." The brunet reached out with his free hand and patted Percy's shoulder. "He'll be back, dude, I know it. You worry too much."

A small smile traced Percy's lips. "Perhaps you don't worry enough." Green eyes glanced up at the sky. "Maybe they're right."

"Don't say that, man. Nico cares about you, he wouldn't just abandon you."

Percy's brow furrowed as he continued to stare up at the sky. His fingers raked through the grass and dirt beside him. "And, yet, he's gone. Rachel has known him longer than you," he whispered.

Grover frowned down at the dirt. "And Jason and Apollo have known him just as long, and they both believe you shouldn't give up. Stop listening to those negative heads."

Percy's smile returned as he let his gaze fall upon his lap. "Maybe. However, Rachel sees the future." Grover frowned at him, and Percy cocked an eyebrow back at him. "What do you have to say about that?"

The brunet scratched at his chin for a few minutes before snapping the stick down on his leg and flinging the pieces into the grass. "Screw her predictions." Percy smiled as he received a gentle push from his friend. "The future isn't set in stone, dude, so don't believe it just because she says something."

"But what if he doesn't come back." Percy's smile is suddenly gone. He stares at Grover from behind his bangs.

The lanky brunet blows out a breath. "Then something must be wrong."

Green clashed with brown in a long, silent stare. Percy finally broke the eye contact and let his eyes stare down at the grass again. He silently nodded his head before jumping to his feet. "Perhaps you're right. I suppose I can only wait and see." He reached out and helped Grover stand up. "The only problem is that I don't know where to go looking for him if he is in trouble."

Grover rolled his eyes with a smile. "Whatever, man. If it came down to that, we all know you'd charge into Zeus's headquarters by yourself."

The two clasped hands, the taller of the two smiling. "Am I alone?"

"No," Grover said gently, "you'll never be alone, man." The brunet rubbed his hands together as they began to walk back to the camp. "Speaking of all the people that desire you're attention, Athena wants you to come down to the lab."

Percy nodded his head, letting his hands slide into his pockets. "Yeah, okay, just let me get cleaned up first."

With a nod from Grover, the two fell into a comfortable silence. A lot of the residents were out and about by the time they entered the camp grounds. And Percy actually waved back and smiled to the ones that stopped to greet him. He couldn't place it, but felt calm and happy today. He couldn't really remember the last time he had felt like this, probably a year now. Perhaps it was a good sign.

But there was also the chance that it could easily vanish in the blink of an eye. He was very much aware of his mood swings lately, yet chose to ignore them for the most part. Annabeth and Athena were always pestering him to get examined, and Reyna wholeheartedly supported their idea. He knew he acted different now. Kronos was to blame for that.

No, he reminded himself, it was his own fault. It was his fault for staying in the man's head as he had died. It was his fault for taking that route in the first place. It was his fault, and he wanted to live with his consequences. Perhaps that was all his life was anymore, consequences. Maybe that was why fate had decided to take Nico away from him, punishment for bringing about this chaos to the world. If he had not gotten involved with all of this to begin with, perhaps none of this would have ever happened.

Percy blinked when he felt Grover rapped his knuckle against the raven haired Special's forehead. He quickly made a face and smacked the other's hand away. "Stop that," he grumbled.

"You were spacing out on me again." Grover's head tilted to the side, an eyebrow arching in the process. "You tend to do that a lot lately. Why is that?"

The green-eyed young man rubbed his forehead while he gave his friend an annoyed look. He went to open his mouth, but his mind took over for him. Images of Nico's pale face, full of concern flashed behind his eyes. "Don't let him control you," Nico had once told him. "Your will is stronger than his."

Percy blinked slowly, staring off into space. Grover frowned at him. The brunet pursed his lips and placed a hand on Percy's back. "Come on, dude, we're almost to your cabin. Take a nice long shower and relax a little."

The taller of the two just kept staring off into space, his eyes shifting back and forth slightly. His eyes came back into focus when he found himself staring at his cabin door. He turned around to find Grover still staring at him with concern. "Thanks, Grover."

The brunet nodded. "Don't mention it. Just try to take care of yourself, man. But still know that I'll be here if you need me." A small smile graced Grover's lips as he patted Percy's shoulder. "Everyone needs someone they can lean on every once and a while."

Percy gave the other a lopsided smile before opening his door and stepping inside, letting the door swing shut behind him. He stopped in the doorway, though, his nose picking up on something almost instantly.

Perfume.

His eyes narrowed as he scanned his cabin, though he was unsuccessful at finding anyone. But there it was, the smell, hanging heavily in the air. His irises expanded briefly before they returned to their normal size. Percy exhaled before his eyes flickered over to his fireplace.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my cabin, Drew?"

A tall and beautiful Asian girl stepped out from behind Percy's stone fireplace. Her black hair was styled up in ringlets, which bounced lightly as she moved. Her eyes were a warm brown color, while her smile was like ice. Several earrings were in each of her ears, while rings and bracelets lined her fingers and wrists. Her makeup was done to complete perfection. As Percy inhaled, he could detect the girl's perfume better: nutmeg and pine.

Drew smiled sweetly at him, brushing a strand of hair out of her perfect face. When Percy crossed his arms over his chest, the girl pouted at him, batting her eyelashes. "I just wanted to check on you, Percy." She stepped closer, until she was close enough to touch Percy. She circled around him, running a perfectly manicured nail along his body. "You're always off by yourself, it can't be good for you."

"I like being alone every now and then."

Drew smiled again before stepping away from Percy. Her eyes landed on a picture of Nico on the mantle of his fireplace. With a click of her tongue, she picked it up and stared down at it distastefully. "You must be so lonely, Percy." She turned around and bit down on her lip, placing the photo facedown.

Percy gave her a blank look. The girl rolled her eyes as the photo was placed back in its original position. "I don't need your kind of comfort, Drew."

The Asian girl moved closer once again, a dark look in her eye. "But my way is so much more...pleasurable."

Percy's eyes clouded over as a tingling sensation filled his head. His muscles slowly tightened throughout his boy, and he found himself slowly leaning into Drew. The girl chuckled lightly at him as she leaned in, ready for the kiss. "D-Dre-Drew," Percy struggled to get out. "That's enough." He gritted his teeth and did his best to try to pull away, only to find himself unsuccessful. Percy's green eyes exploded into back, a concussive force flinging Drew across the room. "Stop!"

Drew tumbled over Percy's couch, landing roughly on her back. Percy stepped towards the couch and peered over it, receiving a glare from the girl almost immediately. Percy returned her glare with one of his own.

Drew huffed as Percy reached out and helped her to her feet. The girl straightened out her clothing before moving on to her hair, not wanting any imperfections in her appearance. She finally turned to Percy, doing a quick glance at her nails. "It was just a little fun, Percy. Honestly, you're so uptight lately. It wouldn't kill you to unwind and have a little fun."

Dark green eyes stared down at her. "Don't ever empath me again, Drew."

Icy brown eyes stared back into his green ones. "Why are you so loyal to someone who abandoned you?" An icy smile joined her gaze as she looked up at Percy. "You can't honestly believe that he actually cares about you. He left you, Percy, it's time you moved on. He's never coming back." She attempted to move closer, but a dark look from Percy made her reconsider that action.

"Even if I were to move on," he spat out venomously, "I wouldn't come to you. Now get out."

The girl rolled her eyes and held up a hand. "Whatever. I was actually sent here by Hazel, though."

"Why?"

The girl waved her hand absently in the air. "How should I know? Go ask her yourself."

Percy glared at her again before thrusting a finger towards the door. "Out."

Drew huffed and stomped towards the door, letting it slam harshly behind her. Percy let his head fall back in a groan once he was alone. He winced as he felt a sore spot in his neck. The young man reached up and massaged it as he walked towards his bedroom.

Why couldn't he just find a full day where he was left in peace? And he had been in such a good mood, too. Percy's green eyes quickly dilated as the water was turned on. He stripped himself of his shirt, rubbing at his neck one more time before moving to his bathroom. He yanked his jeans and boxers off, kicking them off to the side. He let out a sigh of contentment as the warm water hit his back, already easing his tension away.

Percy ran a hand down his face, when some movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. But when he turned his head to look, it was gone. But knew he had seen something. Long, flowing black hair, trailing behind a feminine figure. She wasn't really there, though, Percy had to remind himself. She was never really there.

The green-eyed young man let his head hang, letting out a groan. This had started even before Nico's disappearance. There were times when Percy would do a quick glance in Nico's direction, it wouldn't be him. But then he would blink, and there Nico would be, staring at him in confusion.

For Percy, it had always been hard because they both had the same color hair and eyes. It haunted Percy, seeing this woman that he knew to be dead. He had seen it in Kronos's head, he knew she wasn't really alive. But she still haunted him, just like Kronos, and now, just like Nico.

After finishing with his shower, Percy reached out and grabbed a towel. Quickly running it through his hair, he stepped back into his bedroom. The young man pulled the towel off his head to wrap around his waist, and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Standing behind him was a tall man with black hair. He had dark eyes and black hair, slicked back with gel. He had a fairly built structure, with fair olive skin. A silver ring sat on his left hand, a black gem in the center. The man was busy twisting it back and forth on his finger.

"Kronos," Percy whispered.

The dark haired man smirked at him. Percy glared and whirled around, only to be met with an empty room. Green eyes fell shut as the young man's head fell back in another groan. Maybe he did need help, maybe someone to talk to. This couldn't be healthy for him, and it felt like it might be getting worse.

But he had nothing. Or at least, that was how it felt. He just wanted Nico back, he felt better having the brown-eyed boy around, keeping an eye on him. Perhaps he didn't feel that way when Nico was actually here, but he did now. He had often gotten irritated that Nico would follow him around and continuously ask him how he was doing, but now he just wanted to hear his voice. Back then, he had felt like he needed to be strong and the one to watch out for Nico, and perhaps he still felt that way with the camp in general.

He needed to be strong. That was why he kept his problems to himself. If the people outside his friends found out about all of this, how could they depend on him?

Percy emerged from his bedroom five minutes later, lowering a blue shirt onto his torso. His green eyes flickered over to the photo of Nico for a long moment. Nico. He needed to find his boyfriend. It wasn't going to be easy to get near Zeus, and he needed all of the help he could get. Which meant that Nico needed to be located, even if he didn't want to be with Percy anymore. This was something bigger than both of them.

And from what Clarisse and Frank had told him, it was only going to get worse. Before they had left the organization, they learned that Zeus was looking for not only Specials, but specifically for Omegas. One was working for Zeus now, they knew that much. It was also possible that he had gotten his hands on two more.

And what scared Percy the most about all of that news was that Nico could be one of those captured individuals. But there was also something that Hazel had told him. And since he had to go see her, perhaps he should question her about it.

Tossing a final look at the photo of Nico, Percy pushed against the door and exited the cabin. He wandered around for five or ten minutes before he finally found Hazel. She was sitting underneath a pavilion with the head of their camp's hospital, Reyna.

Both of the girls smiled at him as he approached, Hazel setting down a pencil that she had been using to draw on a piece of paper. "Good afternoon, Percy," she greeted him.

Percy smiled and nodded in return. Reyna pursed her lips as she looked him over. "You still look exhausted." The young man let out a sigh, sitting down at the table with them. "Perhaps you should swing by the hospital."

"I'm fine, Reyna."

Reyna picked up a clipboard from beside her and began scribbling something down. Percy frowned and attempted to get a look at it. "Patient is in denial and resistant to treatment."

The young man narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms on the table. "I am not doing anything."

"Patient shows signs of aggression. Recommend that he be restrained and confined to his quarters."

Hazel chuckled from beside Reyna. "And don't forget the tranquilizer. You'll need something strong to take him down."

Percy let out a sigh as Reyna scribbled something else down. Green eyes narrowed at the brown-eyed woman, who wasn't paying him any attention. She brushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear before sitting the clipboard down.

"I hate it when you talk to me like I'm not here," he mumbled, dropping his chin onto his arms. Reyna smirked at him. "Anyways, is there anything that either of you need?" Sea-green eyes shifted over to Hazel. "Drew said you wanted to see me?"

The girl nodded. "I did, but Reyna can go first."

The taller of the two females shrugged. "I don't really need anything. It's been quiet, and not many people have been getting injured. The only thing I can think of to ask for is medical supplies and equipment, we always need those."

Percy nodded his head, fighting the urge to let his eyes droop. Perhaps he should try to get more sleep. "I'll have Chris or Frank put that on the list for the next time they go out scavenging for supplies." He began drumming his fingers on the wooden table as he stared at their head healer. "How about our healers?"

"We have plenty." Reyna smiled at him as she ran her fingers through her dark hair. "Lee has been of great help, and everyone else is doing what they can to assist."

"Speaking of our new addition," Percy began, "how is he adjusting?"

"He's doing as well as can be expected. He's grateful he has a home now, and I'm teaching him what I know about using his powers of healing." She sighed. "But, I'm sure that we will have plenty of work to do soon, if I hear right about us going looking for Special hunters."

Percy pursed his lips. "I need to make sure we're safe. I don't need them taking our supplies."

"Of course," Reyna mumbled, scribbling something onto her clipboard.

The young man sighed before clearing his throat. "Would you mind giving Hazel and I some privacy?"

Reyna's dark eyes narrowed at him from across the table. "I'm not going to spy, if that's what you're thinking."

"Reyna, I didn't mean-"

"You trust the others just fine."

Percy let out a groan, slipping a hand into his dark locks. "It's just a personal matter, between Hazel and I." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing of great importance. And I'm not even talking about it with anyone else."

Reyna sighed and collected her things. "Very well." The raven haired young woman pursed her lips, giving Percy a final look before walking off.

Hazel smiled as Reyna vanished into the camp. "I'm glad I don't have your job."

"Most days I wish I didn't have this responsibility. On the bright side, though, I have people to help me out."

Hazel smiled again and began drawing. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You said you wanted to talk to me."

Hazel's smile dwindled until her lips were set into a thin line. "You're being evasive. I know there's something else that you want to talk about."

The green-eyed young man gestured across the table, to Hazel. "You first."

The short girl rolled her eyes at him. She let out a sigh and scooted the pieces of papers she had been working on across the table. "I was just thinking about redoing the outside of the lab. I can get Leo to help me install it all." She shrugged her shoulders, looking up from the table. "It's just a few more defenses."

The young man scratched the back of his head, his brow furrowed. "I'm fine with it, but this sounds like something you should talk to Athena about."

Hazel smiled and nodded her head. "I was going to. I just wanted to run it by you first."

Green eyes flickered up to stare at the girl. "How's the progress on housing coming along?"

"Better, now that Athena is up and running. The houses are finally beginning to stop look like something out of the Flintstones. I suppose I'll need to eventually go back and improve the rest of them." She smiled again as she scribbled something down on her maps. "Jason's been helpful with getting the electricity working."

A yawn hit him, which brought a frown to Hazel's lips. He smiled sheepishly at her, rubbing the back of his neck. "What about this reconstruction of the mill?"

Hazel narrowed her eyes at him before returning her gaze to the maps. "We've all been working on that. We're nearly done. I expect it to be finished within another week or two."

A lazy smile graced Percy's lips. "That's great. I'm glad we can get back a little of our normalcy around here."

The girl let out a breath and began rolling the maps up. "Well, as close to normal as we can hope for right now."

"That's actually sort of what I wanted to talk to you about, or at least part of it." The two frowned at each other, Hazel's brow furrowing. "I just wanted to make sure I could count on you when the time came to battle Zeus."

Hazel slowly nodded her head. She reached across the table and gave Percy's hand a squeeze, which was accompanied by a concerned look. "Of course, you know you can count on me. The bastard took me away from my home, and probably has managed to kill my family." A dark look crept onto Hazel's face, though Percy didn't show any sign of being bothered by it. "He deserves to die."

"I agree." The two locked eyes, both with dark looks in their eyes. "And that brings me to what I really wanted to talk to you about." Hazel's eyebrows rose as she blinked. "It's about the guy that helped you escape."

The dark skinned girl's brow furrowed. "The Omega?" Percy nodded his head. "I already told you, I don't remember much about him." Her lips tightly pursed as she glanced down at the table. "They kept us on a lot of drugs. All I remember was that he had wavy brown hair and piercing green eyes, like two emeralds." Her brow continued to furrow. "He also had a British accent."

Percy had been chewing on his lip as he listened. He let out a sigh and let his hands fall onto the table. "Nothing else? What about a name?"

The girl shook her head, a sad look marring her features. "No, he never told me. Well, he might have, but I was still on those drugs while we were escaping. I just remember a lot of yelling and running, and then we were in the woods." She glanced down at her lap for a moment before looking over Percy's shoulder. "I do know he was an Omega, he had to have been."

"Do you remember his power?"

She shook her head again. "It all happened so fast," she whispered. "One second the guards would be there, then they would just be gone. But that's where I remember the most yelling, when we ran into guards."

Percy rubbed a hand down his mouth before getting to his feet. "Thanks, you've been a lot of help. If you remember anything else, let me know."

Hazel smiled as she gathered up her maps. "Anytime, Percy. But, I'm sure you need to get back to your busy schedule."

He made a face, which made her laugh. The young man scrunched his lips before turning and walking away, leaving the laughing Hazel behind him. A smile slid onto his lips as he headed towards the ranger station.

He was grateful for his friends. He didn't think he would be able to get through all of this without them. He probably would be insane by now, not that he didn't seem to be headed in that direction anyways. He knew there would be whispers if it got out about his problem.

With another yawn, he stretched his arms above his head. Perhaps he should go see Reyna, get some sleeping pills from her. At least he had made some progress on this missing Omega. Now he just needed to find this mysterious guy. If he was lucky, the Omega hadn't gotten himself recaptured.

Upon entering the ranger station, Percy typed in the secret code. The floor closed above him. When the elevator came to a stop, the white doors to the lab opened in front of him. He stepped out, rubbing his palms together. Athena projected herself in front of Percy, and began walking with him. "Good afternoon, Percy."

"Hey," was his lazy reply. "Do we have anything to report?"

"Clarisse and the others have left, we'll notify you when they are ready to report in." The two stepped into the main area of the lab, where Percy found Annabeth already hard at work at one of the stations. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I need you to look back into that Omega that Hazel spoke of." Athena's lips tilted down, her eyes swirling with data. "Just do it, please."

"I feel that the request is a waste of my time, which should be efficiently regulated."

"Just try."

Annabeth glanced over her shoulder. "She's right, though, it's not going to amount to anything."

The green-eyed youth blew out a breath. "It can't hurt to try, though. What's the harm in trying?"

Annabeth rubbed her forehead, turning around to fully face Percy. "I know why you're doing this, Percy."

"This guy can help us fight Zeus." Green eyes narrowed in a scowl.

Grey eyes rolled back at him with the shake of a head. "He's not going to lead you to Nico, Percy."

"You don't know that."

Annabeth lifted her hands at her side. "True, but it is very unlikely." Her pink lips pursed as she continued to stare at Percy. "Zeus might have-"

"No," Percy cut her off. "Don't finish that sentence." His eyes shut tight, his hands shaking at his sides. "Please," he whispered. "Nico is too valuable to terminate."

"He's also dangerous, Percy," the blonde reasoned. She let out a sigh, squeezing his shoulder. "Zeus might look at him like a liability. We've already seen that he's willing to do whatever it takes. He killed Chiron, he would kill Nico, too."

"But he stored certain people away, those that wouldn't help him." The raven haired young man winced in pain. He reached up and touched his lips. When he pulled his fingers away, he found blood smeared on his skin. He hadn't even realized he had been chewing on his lip.

He looked up to find Annabeth looking at him with concern. Without breaking their gaze, she said, "Athena, what do you think?"

"Both suggestions are possible, although, I prefer not to delve into the realm of chance and probability over matters such as this." Her eyes shifted between the two friends. "It is possible that Zeus was going to eventually terminate Hazel, we can never know for sure."

Percy was the first to break eye contact with Annabeth. "Explain."

"It is just a matter of the person's usefulness. If he does have Nico, the boy may end up outliving his usefulness."

"Nico is a bargaining tool for him. He knows we'll want him back," came Jason's voice. They turned to find the blond walking into the lab. He eyed them for a few seconds before making his way over to one of the computer stations.

Annabeth sighed. "And that's all the more reason to terminate him. Better him dead, then with the enemy."

Athena turned to Percy. "They both make valid points, and it is hard to say which may be the more likely outcome."

Jason nodded, not taking his eyes off of his terminal. "But my father loves negotiations. I think it's more likely that he would keep Nico alive."

Annabeth blew at some of her bangs before fixing Percy with a look. "If, by some chance, he does have Nico, you have to promise me that you won't jeopardize all of our lives to get him back."

Green eyes scowled into Annabeth's grey ones. "Why would he concern himself with us at all?"

"You are the biggest threat to him," Athena reminded him.

Percy's scowl shifted to the hologram. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Athena smirked at him. "A pleasure, as always." She waved a hand and made some digital images appear. "Now then, as you can see, that group was spotted again today. A little farther away, but still close to our borders."

The green-eyed young man rubbed his chin as he stared at the holographic images. Letting out a sigh, he nodded his head. "Find me a location, I'll handle them myself." He turned his attention to Jason. "Could you two excuse us for a second?"

Annabeth sighed and headed towards another room in the lab. Athena gave a silent nod before disappearing. Percy slowly stepped over to where Jason stood, sliding through images on the holographic projector.

"Are you okay, Jase?" Percy asked.

"Just peachy," the blond mumbled.

Percy leaned against the wall to the left of the computer terminal Jason was standing at. "Is this about your sister?"

Jason's blue eyes darkened and cut over to Percy's direction. "She's out there, I know it. You can't tell me otherwise, especially when you want to believe that Nico is still out there. It's the same thing."

"I know," Percy whispered. "I'm not trying to stop you from searching, I'm just concerned."

The blond chuckled at him, leaning an arm against the computer. "Funny, we're all concerned about you. Perhaps we're in the same boat."

The green-eyed young man rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but you don't have a dead man living inside your head."

"Fair point." Jason turned back to the computer and began typing. "I need to find her, Percy." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "She's all the family I've got left. Now that my dad is dead, I need her."

Percy exhaled slowly. "Maybe Zeus has her." His lips thinned. "Do you even know what she looks like?"

The blond nodded. "Chiron looked into her for me when we were still with U.N.I.T." His gaze lowered slightly. "She looks a little like him. I just wish I knew where she was now. And where is our mother?" He furrowed his brow. "I have so many questions. I'm hoping...I'm hoping she can answer some of them for me."

The raven haired young man nodded. "I understand. Maybe we can get you some answers. If she doesn't know," Percy smiled, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I'll drag it out of Zeus myself."

Jason grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Percy." He frowned and placed his hand on top of Percy's. "You shouldn't give up on your search either."

Percy frowned at him. "You think so?"

The blond nodded. "I know Nico. He was my best friend growing up at the organization. I know he wouldn't leave without telling someone, anyone. He would have said something."

"He-"

"I mean if he didn't intend to come back," Jason interrupted. "He's not completely cold-hearted." The blond went back to scanning through data on the computer.

"What's her name?"

Jason looked up from the screen. "What?"

Percy smiled. "Your sister. What's her name?" He chuckled.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. Her name is Thalia." He swiped through some data and enlarged a photo. "There, that's her."

Percy felt his stomach drop. "Her? Are you sure?"

Jason nodded, giving Percy an odd look. "What's wrong?"

"She was on the list," he whispered. He quickly shook his head. "Your sister, she was on the Omega list Chiron had. Did you know that?"

Jason's brow furrowed before he shook his head. "No, no one ever told me."

Percy nodded, his eyes returning to the girl's image. "Yeah." He placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Well, we definitely need to find her now."

The image was of a teenage girl, a little younger than they were now. She had shoulder-length length black hair and Jason's electric blue eyes. But while Jason's looked like lightning would jump across them, hers looked like an entire storm might erupt within them. Freckled dotted her face, which was very pretty. A pair of skull earrings were in her ears.

Athena sprang to life in a flash of light beside them, causing both of them to jump. "Dammit, Athena," Percy cursed, clutching his chest. "I told you not to do that."

Athena stared back at him with a raised eyebrow. "My deepest apologies, but it seems we have a problem." She tapped a space in the air and a holographic screen appeared. "I've located the group we were speaking of."

Percy grunted as he stared at the projection of several men walking through a field. He tapped on the top left corner of the image to display the location. "They are closer." He nodded his head. "Jason, get Frank. We're going to go have a talk with these people."

* * *

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Apollo asked, peering out from the bush he and Jason were hiding in.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the blond and raised a finger to his lips. "Why don't you go ask them to stomp around a little, or perhaps for them to shoot their guns," Jason shot back sarcastically. Percy sighed as the blond was shoved from the bush by his curly haired boyfriend. Frank and Grover snickered as Jason tumbled down the small hill in front of them, where he landed roughly on his back.

Apollo smirked down at his boyfriend, while the short haired blond worked on picking leaves out of his hair. Percy glared over at Apollo. "Could you two make any more noise?"

Jason scowled at Apollo as he climbed back up the hill. He shoved Frank off in Apollo's direction, taking the Asian's spot beside Percy. Percy sighed and shook his head as Frank and Apollo smirked and bumped fists.

Grover shifted his arm over in front of Percy, revealing a small monitor on the suit of battle armor. "They are getting close."

"Which means don't make any more noise," the green-eyed young man hissed.

"We do have traps out."

Percy slapped a hand to his face, peering out at Grover from between his fingers. The brunet chuckled nervously at the dark look he received. "That's not the point, Grover. I want them to be taken by surprise."

The brown-eyed young man glanced back to his monitor. "Well, we should be hearing them in the next few minutes. They'll be in visuals shortly after that."

The group fell quiet, crouched and ready to strike in the bushes. Percy's eyes and focus became concentrated on the woods. It wasn't long before the crunching of leaves began echoing throughout the wooded area. Whispering voices soon followed. Was it possible that they didn't know they had stumbled into someone's territory?

They knew crops and animals were around, obviously, or they wouldn't be here. So, why were they being so careless with their movements? Before Percy could question it more, the group of camo-clad individuals came into their line of sight. All of them carried guns and knives, while some wore goggles on top of their heads.

Something caught Percy's eye. A flash of blond and a familiar face, smiling at one of the other squadron members. Percy blinked just as they stepped over a netted area. By the time his eyes opened again, the trap had sprung and the squadron was yanked into the air. They began yelling and squirming about as they attempted to struggle their way out of the thick net that was holding them up.

Jason and the others climbed out of the bushes, but Percy remained where he was at. Had he seen who he thought he saw? But it couldn't be him, could it? Percy hadn't seen him in two years. And what would be the chances that he would be all the way out here?

Apollo rested his arm on Jason's shoulder, both of them smirking up at the captured people. "Well, well, what do we have here? Gentlemen," there was a cough from a woman in the net, "err, and ladies, it seems you've been caught trespassing."

"You better let us down from here before I stab you in your pretty boy face, asshole," the woman that coughed growled.

Jason raised a hand up in front of him, rubbing his fingers together, electricity sparking from his fingertips. "You're not really in any position to go making threats."

A muscular looking man made an attempt to grab at the tall blond. "Fucking Specials."

Grover cleared his throat. "And normal person."

Frank arched a brow. "You're the ones who stepped into our territory, so don't go complaining when we keep defenses set up."

The woman from earlier struggled against the net and the others. "Your territory?"

Percy finally stepped out of the bushes. "Yes, ours." He frowned as he stared at the woman in the net. She wore a helmet, so her face was concealed from his prying eyes. "You've been moving around on our land, possibly taking some of our supplies."

The aggressive looking man worked to get his gun aimed at Percy through the net. He was disappointed, however, when Percy bent the gun and yanked it out of the man's hand, all without touching it. The man sneered at him.

"Percy?"

Percy's brow furrowed as his eyes searched through that net. He did know that voice. Maybe it was him then. Percy's mind began to race as he searched through the group of captured people, eventually landing on one of the last people he thought to ever see again.

He had cut his golden hair since the last time Percy had seen him. It was no longer curly, now short and spiked in the front. His tan face was covered in dirt, save for the area around his eyes. Dark bags could be seen under his eyes as well, a clear sign that he hadn't been sleeping much. His eyes were still the color of the sky, the same as Percy always remembered them being.

Percy found himself frozen. It really was him. "Will?" Percy breathed out.

The blond finally smiled at him, or perhaps it was a smirk. "Didn't expect to find you out here. Mind cutting us down?"

Percy's brow furrowed, but didn't move. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Seriously, Percy, it's sort of cramped in here."

Green eyes clashed with blue, Percy finally nodding. Apollo snapped his fingers and a portion of the rope caught fire. A moment later, the squadron was plummeting towards the ground, where they landed roughly. Will groaned and stood up, giving Percy a dirty look.

"Was that really necessary?"

The raven haired youth shrugged his broad shoulders. "Can't be too careful." Crossing his arms, he let a frown mar his face. "Now, what are you doing out here, in these woods."

"We don't have to answer that," the girl from earlier snapped. Her black hair fell out as she removed her combat helmet. There was a large aquamarine streak that ran down on the right side of her hair. She was fairly tall and fit-looking. Like the others, her face was dirty. Her eyes matched the streak in her hair, an aquamarine color.

Will held up a hand. "It's fine, Amphitrite, I know this one."

Percy gave him an odd look. "Are you in charge, or something?"

Will crossed his arms and shrugged. "Something like that. I suppose I can assume the same for you?"

"Perhaps." The two looked each other up and down. Was Will a threat now? His group had thought these people to be Special hunters.

Will finally glanced around at Percy's companions. "Your boyfriend isn't with you? What, is he off trying to kill more guys that like you?"

Green eyes darkened as they stared back at the tan blond. "Not funny," Percy grunted. "You still haven't answered my question."

The blond rested a hand on the gun that was strapped to his person. "Just looking for food. That's pretty much what most survivors do nowadays." He gave a careless shrug, scratching under his eye. "Some of my group spotted this place a few days ago. So, I thought we'd come see if we could collect anything."

"Will," Amphitrite hissed. "Why are you telling them all of this?"

Will gave her an annoyed look and she shut up. "Because, we may outnumber them, but I'm pretty sure they have the advantage. Besides, they said this was their land, so I'm assuming there are more of them nearby." He loudly exhaled before returning his attention to Percy. "Sorry, some of my people can be quite distrustful of your kind."

Jason's jaw tightened. "Our kind? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, we're all people," Frank added.

"Tell that to the man that destroyed the world," Amphitrite sneered.

"We didn't ask him to do that." Percy tore his eyes away from Will and gave the girl a hard stare. "We're just trying to survive, same as you."

Apollo crossed his arms. "How do we know you aren't trying to hunt 'our kind'?"

Will sighed and turned his attention to the curly haired blond. "If you want honesty, we have killed Specials before, but only because we had to. We really were out here to find food and supplies." He narrowed his blue eyes before shifting them to Percy again. "I'm glad to see you're alive, Percy."

"Why did you kill them?" Percy wasn't sure how he felt about this new piece of informations. Would Will kill him? Would one of his group?

"I simply meant that they left us with no choice. They attacked us first." The blond held his hands up defensively. "I'm not going to hurt you, Percy." His eyes grew dark. "I'm not like your boyfriend, if you're still dating him."

"I am." Frank grunted and Percy shot him a dirty look. "It's complicated. But that's not important right now."

The blond slowly nodded his head. "That's fine. Anyways, you said this was your land, so I'm assuming you have a place set up around here?"

Jason growled at Will. Blue clashed with blue as the two blonds glared at each other. "That's none of your business."

The other blond held up his hands again. "It's just that we're a long ways from our place." His eyes turned soft as they shifted back to Percy. "If it's all right, could you find us a place to stay, just for the night."

All eyes turned to Percy, waiting for his answer. He rubbed the back of his neck. "As long as there isn't any trouble, I suppose we could put you up for the night." Percy's group frowned at him, while Will smiled brightly.

"You have my word, we won't be any trouble to you or your group." He attempted to touch Percy's shoulder, but the taller young man shrugged it off. The air seemed to grow tense as the two once lovers stared each other down. Everyone seemed to be waiting, possibly for a fight. But one never came. Will just smiled and said, "Shall we be off?"

Percy hooked his fingers into his front belt loops. He arched an eyebrow at Will before looking around at his group. "I'm going to have to ask that all of you hand over your weapons first. I don't want my people seeing a bunch of armed strangers walking into camp.

Amphitrite scowled at him. "Screw that. Come on, Will, we don't need them."

Will just shrugged. "Very well, hand over the weapons."

Amphitrite gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

The blond blinked, still staring at Percy. "I'd do the same in his shoes. Like I said, we aren't looking to be trouble."

Frank, Grover, and Jason gathered up all of the guns, each receiving dirty looks from each squadron member. Will smirked when he saw that Percy was staring at him. The green-eyed young man frowned and cut his eyes away. It didn't hinder the blond's smirk, though.

Once all of the guns were collected, Percy thrust his hands into his pockets and took off walking. Jason and the others moved to walk with him, and Will motioned for his group to follow. Will stepped into line beside Percy, turning to smile at the raven haired young man. Green eyes darted over to give him a quizzical stare, but he didn't say anything.

No one spoke during their walk back to camp. Jason and Apollo would glance at each other from time to time, both with frowns on their faces. Percy didn't need to read their minds to know what their silent conversation was about. They weren't happy about this. Percy knew most of his people wouldn't be happy about it. But Will had been his friend once, or maybe a little more than friend, and he couldn't just turn him away like that.

Will finally broke the awkward silence five minutes later. "You know, Percy, I've thought a lot about you since we last saw each other." Percy turned towards him with an eyebrow raised. Will lowered his gaze, staring at the leaves. "Yeah, I sort of wished things had gone differently between us."

The Omega shrugged his shoulders. "Can't change the past. Besides, it can be a lot to take in." He frowned, his eyes darting over to Will. "I just find it odd that I find you out here."

"Well, you came out here." Will smiled at him. "I didn't know we couldn't be in the same state." The blond shifted a step away when Percy's face remained serious. "Geez, lost your sense of humor?"

Will shifted under Percy's dark gaze. "Sorry, I just haven't really...felt like myself lately."

The blond visibly swallowed and turned away from Percy. "I suppose it's understandable, with the condition of the world."

Percy sighed and looked up at the sky. "What are you doing, Will?"

"What do you mean?"

"It feels like you're trying to pick up where we left off." Green eyes closed. "I haven't seen you in two years and an apocalypse happened, things don't work that way."

Will pursed his lips and the two stared at each other again. "Did you ever think about me, maybe wonder if I was alive?"

Percy blinked before looking ahead again. "Honestly? Not really. Perhaps you crossed my mind from time to time, wondering if you made it out of New York, but I've been a little too busy to wonder about people that I used to know."

Will frowned and lowered his gaze. Percy glanced over at him for a brief second, but didn't say anything. What was there to say? He was just telling the truth. And over the past two years, so much had happened that he barely had time to be concerned with his own wellbeing, let alone someone that wasn't residing at the camp.

"But maybe I was meant to find you again." Percy turned back to face Will at the sound of his voice. He blinked a few times, but kept his face blank. "Maybe we were meant to have another chance? I mean, it sounds like you're having issues with your boyfriend."

His jaw tightened, his fingers flexing at his sides. He barely tolerated people at camp to talk about his situation with Nico, so this was definitely not something he wanted to talk about with Will. But Will didn't know, he had to remind himself. He didn't know Nico was missing, possibly having abandoned Percy. How could he be expected to know that?

"Why California?" Percy asked, breaking the silence. "It's a long ways from New York."

Will arched a brow. "I could say the same to you. I imagine we came here for similar reasons; just trying to survive. I was hoping that maybe we could find something, something untouched." A small, weak smile made a brief appearance on his face. "I didn't come straight here. I searched all over the country, but never really found what I was looking for." His blue eyes were cast to the ground. "All I found were more people, all of them suffering."

"How did you manage to survive the bombing in New York?"

The blond let out a breath, offering Percy another weak smile. Percy frowned at him and the smile vanished. "I got out after the raids. Those nights still give me nightmares. I don't think I'll ever forget all of that screaming, or the gunshots." A sad look appeared in the blond's blue eyes as he watched Percy's face. "Were you there?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Percy whispered. "A lot of bad memories, and I don't really like thinking about them." He offered Will a weak smile when he received a frustrated look. "So, why California?"

The blond shrugged, turning his attention away from Percy. He reached up and touched a low hanging brach as they passed under it, remaining silent for nearly a minute. "Just let myself wander out here." His blue eyes refocused on Percy. "I suppose I'm glad I did."

Percy frowned at him. "I'm still in a relationship."

The blond sighed. "I suppose he will be thrilled when he sees me wandering around camp."

The raven haired Special lowered his gaze. "He's not there, so I guess we won't be finding out."

"Well, where is he?" Percy shrugged. "You're in a relationship with someone, and you don't even know where they are?"

"Like I said, complicated." His green eyes turned sad as he inspected each blade of grass they passed. "I'm waiting for him."

Will shook his head. "Still as loyal as I remember you being." Percy looked up at him and Will's blue eyes searched his green ones. "If you ever change your mind, find me and let me know."

Percy didn't respond, he just stared back down at the ground. The two didn't speak again as they walked back to camp. Percy was aware that he received looks from the blond from time to time, but he refused to look back at Will. Shouldn't he be happier about seeing someone like him after all of this? But he couldn't seem to feel anything. He was relieved, he supposed, but that was about the extent of it.

When they arrived, Will and the others took a moment to marvel at the camp. "Wow," Will breathed out, "you were lucky to find this place. It's really nice."

Percy smiled and looked around himself. "We've done a remodeling, but I suppose this is home." He sighed and motioned for Will to follow him. "We'll see about getting your people set up for the night."

"I really appreciate this, Percy. Most people would probably have turned us away, or try to kill us."

"Don't mention it." A frown marred Percy's face as they headed towards the pavilion. "I'll need to find all of you some sleeping bags."

Will smiled and brushed his shoulder against Percy's. "What about your place?"

"It's not that big."

The blond chuckled, receiving dirty looks from Percy's friends. "I just meant me."

"Oh." Percy and Will stopped walking, while the rest continued on their way. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Will."

"I can't even stay on the couch?" The blond frowned at him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I promise to behave."

Percy shoved a finger into Will's chest. "You stay on the couch." He narrowed his eyes when Will grinned. "I mean it, Will, no funny business."

"Of course not."

They both turned and blinked as Leo came running up to them. "Percy, you're back! We need you in the lab," he breathed out. Leo then noticed Will standing there, his eyes growing wide.

Will arched a brow at Percy. "You have a lab?"

"Confidential." Percy gave Leo a dark stare. "I'm afraid I can't answer that. You said you wouldn't be any trouble, so I expect this to be the end of that line of questioning."

Will pursed his lips and crossed his arms. He was clearly not happy with Percy's new personality change and defensive nature. "Fine, whatever. I'm going to make sure my men get settled in."

Percy grabbed the blond's arm as he moved to walk off. "Hey, I'll catch you later, okay?" The blond nodded before yanking his arm away and marching off.

Leo watched him leave with a raised eyebrow. "Was that Will?"

Percy let out a sigh. "Focus, Leo. What's the problem?"

Leo's brow furrowed as he turned to face Percy. "So, two things happened while you were gone. The first is that Clarisse is ready to report."

Percy began walking towards the ranger station, and Leo jogged to keep up with Percy's long legs. "That's great. Maybe we can get some good info on the place. What's the other thing."

"We don't really know." Percy stopped to give Leo a confused look. The Latino boy shrugged. "You got a message, but not even Athena can crack it. It's secured and says it will only play for you." Percy frowned when Leo took off walking again. "We can't even trace it."

Percy typed in the access code for the lab and they began their descent. "Who would want to contact me, especially with such a method?" His heart began to pound in his chest. Was it Zeus? Perhaps he had Nico and was willing to make Percy a deal. Doubtful, there weren't many people that could probably keep Athena out to such an extreme, and he didn't think Zeus was one of those people. "What about Clarisse?"

"We had her wait. I came looking for you as soon as we heard she was there." The elevator stopped and the lab doors opened. "Annabeth and Rachel have been talking to her."

Athena materialized in front of them, but Percy didn't stop walking. The AI blinked as he walked through her, quickly righting herself and following after him. "Welcome back, Percy. Did everything go well with the intruders?"

"We'll talk about them later." Percy sighed and stopped in front of the monitor projecting Clarisse's face. "Clarisse, what do you have for me?"

"About time you got back," she grumbled. She huffed and panned the camera around, so that it was filming the building. "Have a look for yourself."

The building looked old, with high fences. Barbed wire lined the top of the fence, while more was placed on the ground around the perimeter. Most of the windows were boarded up or so dirty that it was hard to see into. A lot of dishes and antennas lined the roof of the building. Everyone grew shocked when people could be seen roaming around, a lot of people.

"I thought it was abandoned?" Rachel hissed.

Clarisse panned the camera back to her. "Apparently, we were wrong. I'd also go out on a limb and say that the fence was electric." Her lips tilted down. "Whoever is using this place, doesn't want company."

Annabeth tapped a finger to her lips. "All of those men were armed. Have you seen any civilians?"

Clarisse shrugged. "Hard to say. Nowadays, most people carry guns. But, no, most people that we've seen are dressed similar and carry guns."

Percy turned to Athena. "I thought you didn't detect anyone there?"

The AI continued to stare at the screen. "I did say that I couldn't detect Specials. Something must be blocking me."

The raven haired Special folded his arms across his chest. "Clarisse, can you shed any light on that front?"

The girl shook her head. "No, we haven't seen any Special activity. It's possible that the equipment that you saw on the roof is keeping prying eyes out electronically."

The AI narrowed her eyes. "That shouldn't be enough to keep me out. I think we are looking at something very intriguing here."

Percy sighed and nodded his head. "Clarisse, I think you should come back. We need to figure out what to do about this place."

Leo cleared his throat. "What about the inside of the building? Have you managed to scan it?"

Clarisse sneered. "We tried, several times. Whatever the fuck they are using, it's good shit." She huffed and pointed the camera back to the building. "They have some wires running around the building, possibly a generator somewhere."

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Just get your men back here. Don't engage, just get back. We'll plan our course of action once you're back."

Clarisse nodded and ended the transmission. Annabeth nudged Percy. "Hopefully, she'll listen this time. We don't need another incident with her need to fight."

Percy smirked. "I'm sure she'll listen." His green eyes shifted over to the blonde. "What's this about a message for me?"

Annabeth sighed and pushed a few buttons at the computer console. "We can't seem to do anything to it. Leo, Athena, and I have tried everything, and we've only been met with brick walls." She gestured to the monitor. "I suppose we'll just have to do it the message's way."

Static appeared on the screen briefly before the monitor turned black. "Urgent message for Percy Jackson. Repeat, urgent message for Percy Jackson," a computerized voice said.

Rachel sighed. "This is about as far as we've got. For anyone else, it just says 'negative'."

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I'm Percy Jackson. What's the message?"

The computer was quiet for a moment before turning white. "Approved. Greetings, Percy Jackson."

Percy and the others all stared in confusion as footage of them appeared on the screen. Percy felt his heart stop when a video of the night he first met Nico at the club appeared on the screen. It eventually shifted to his battle with Kronos. He had to close his eyes and look away as he watched both himself and Kronos sank to the floor, the latter eventually dying.

"Hello, Perseus," a new voice said. It was encrypted, so that no one would be able to identify anything about the speaker. "As you can see, I've been watching your progress for a very long time. You, and your friends. A lot has happened in the last two years, since you killed Kronos, not all for the better. I would like to speak to you in person. Attached to this message, I will also be sending a set of coordinates. I would like you to meet me there, tomorrow, at noon. We have much to discuss, you and I."

The transmission ended. The screen shifted to a map, with a red dot over the location the voice had spoke of. Percy stared at it for a long time. The room remained quiet, everyone looking around at each other.

"So, what are you going to do?" Rachel asked.

Percy sighed. "I'm going there, of course."

Annabeth frowned. "You can't be serious. It could be a trap."

Leo nodded. "I'm with Annabeth on this one, dude."

Percy shook his head. "I need to know who this is. This person has been watching us, even before I joined up with U.N.I.T. They had footage before I met most of you. How?"

"At least take some people with you," Rachel reasoned.

The raven haired young man nodded. "Yeah, I will. I didn't say I trust this person, just that I want to meet them." He sighed. "Whatever they want, it must be important."

Annabeth held her chin. "But what could they want? And why contact you now?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know. But I intend to find out."

* * *

_I think this was double the size of the first chapter? Yeah, it seems a habit of mine to slowly make each chapter longer than the last. I'll probably have a 40k chapter at some point...other than my holiday oneshots. Well, I've only had one so far. I shall write more, though! Definitely another Halloween one. But I'm rambling. I hope you liked the chapter. Still no Nico. And Will is back. And, before I get messages on it, I did say that there would be no more Will...in Choke. I never said he would not be returning in general. Also, what are your thoughts on his return? Who do you think the mysterious message was from? What could they want? And where the hell is Nico anyways? Perhaps we will find out next time. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello again, lovely readers. No, I haven't updated Children or Shadows yet. Shadows is done, and will, hopefully, be out soon. No promises. Bragi is holding it hostage, for your "own good". As I may have mentioned in some previous note, he's going to be gone for a while, and won't be able to beta for me as much. So, he's storing stuff up to give back to me later. As for Children, I'm trying to put a lot of effort into it. I've gone back and read a lot of old chapters, just trying to progress in points that have been neglected. So, in the meantime, I thought I could offer this as a peace offering. Besides, I'm sure none of you will complain, since you all want to know where Nico is._

_In other news, I've had a lot of inspiration lately, though none of it pertaining to my current stories. However, that could mean new stories in the future. And I'm still trying to get things together for an original story, with original characters. Well, I need to get some sleep, so I'll end the note here. Hope you enjoy._

_Warning: Sexual themes(sort of), language, slash, talk of violence._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 3

Percy stepped out of the ranger station with a groan. His fingers ran up into the back of his hair, his head falling back to look up at the sky. Rain clouds could be seen rolling in on the horizon. How fitting, Percy thought. Letting out a sigh, he hopped down the remaining stairs and began walking through the camp.

Will and his group were taking up the pavilion, and the blond leader perked up when he saw Percy walking through the camp. Percy watched the blond jump off of the table he was perched on and make a straight line for him. "About time you came out," the blond said, falling into step with Percy. He tilted his head to look over Percy's shoulder, at the lab. "Seems awfully small for a lab."

Percy rolled his eyes, but a minute smile graced his lips for a brief second. "Sorry, something came up."

Will nodded, running a hand through his short hair. Percy chuckled when the blond made a face at the feel of it. "I miss the old days, where it wasn't so hard to find a working shower."

Percy chuckled again and nudged Will's shoulder. "We have working water here. You can grab a shower in my cabin."

Will flashed a bright smile in Percy's direction. "That would be great. And after that, I think I'm going to turn in for the evening." The blond stretched his arms over his head, his shirt riding up ever so slightly. Percy cleared his throat and did his best to keep his eyes away from the exposed skin. "I'm so exhausted."

The Omega pursed his lips and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Quite a change of pace from our college days, wouldn't you agree?"

Will's smile vanished, his blue eyes becoming very dark. "I wish we still were in college. It wasn't fair that everyone's lives got cut short with all of this, and I'm not just talking about those that were massacred."

"I know," Percy whispered. "Something does need to be done about it." Will gave a silent nod, the two locking eyes for a brief moment. Percy came to a stop in front of his cabin, the blond quickly looking it over. "Well, this is my place. It's not much, but I try to make due."

Will smiled and nodded. "It's nice. At least it's homier than some of the rundown places I've hauled up in during the past year." The blond's smile melted away again, an uncomfortable look appearing on his face. Percy frowned at him when he began rubbing his arm. "I just...didn't really feel safe in homes anymore, not after New York."

Percy nodded in understanding. He pushed his door open, letting the blond go in first. Will crouched down in the floor, taking the backpack that he had been carrying and unzipping it. He pulled out a fresh pair of clothes and tossed them on Percy's couch before turning around.

"So, bathroom?"

Percy smiled lazily and pointed towards his bedroom. "Through there, it'll be on the right. Feel free to make yourself at home."

Percy stiffened when Will gave him a hug. The feeling of warmth instantly hit him. He had honestly forgotten how warm Will always was. A lot of the times, when the blond had slept over with him, Percy would have to resort to pushing back the covers to keep from burning up.

"Thanks, Percy."

"Just don't get the wrong idea," Percy mumbled. Will frowned and pulled away. The slightly shorter young man stared up at Percy. "I am still with-"

Will rolled his eyes and turned around, picking up his clothes from the couch. "The boy that isn't here. How long are you willing to wait on him? What if he never comes back?"

Percy's brow furrowed as he watched Will walk towards the bedroom from the corner of his eye. "He will be back."

Percy groaned and collapsed on his couch when his bedroom door was closed. Thunder finally boomed overhead. Percy's green eyes drifted shut as he let his head fall back onto the couch. He really needed to catch a break. And, in the back of his mind, he could only imagine how upset Nico would be for letting Will crash on his couch.

He wouldn't deny that he had been feeling lonely, though. It had been a year since he had intimate contact, so could he be blamed for getting to this place? But what if Will was right? What if Nico wasn't coming back?

Percy nearly jumped off of the couch when a knock at his door was accompanied by thunder cracking through the sky. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up, walking over to the door. He stifled a yawn as he opened it to find a soaking wet Jason staring back at him. He arched a brow and stood aside to let the blond into the cabin.

"What's up, Jason?"

Jason stepped around the cabin for a few seconds, his blue eyes scanning over the area. Percy rolled his eyes, knowing he was looking for Will. "I just wanted to talk to you in private."

"He's in the shower, you can calm down."

Jason gave him a dirty look before crossing his arms. "Did you really need to bring them here? I don't think it was a good idea."

Percy let out a breath. "It's just for one night."

The blond gave him a disbelieving look. He frowned and circled around the couch, letting his fingers trail across it. "Is it? For some reason, I doubt that. You used to know him, we know that. So, are you okay with cutting him loose?"

The telepath ran a hand through his dark locks, leaning on the counter behind him. "I don't know, Jason. I haven't really put any thought into it. In case you've forgotten, I've had a lot on my mind recently."

Jason sighed and sat on the back of the couch. "I know you miss Nico, Percy. I'm just worried that you're going to let that affect your decision with this."

"I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I'm fine. You don't need to worry. If I decide to ask Will to stay on, it won't have anything to do with Nico, or my old feelings for him."

The blond furrowed his brow, his head turning ever so slightly towards the bedroom door. "I just want you to be careful." The blond paused, his gaze returning to Percy. "I've been thinking. How is it that Will got to be in charge of his group? There are plenty of those men that are older or stronger than he is."

Percy frowned, his lips forming a thin line. "I didn't say I trusted him, if that's where you're going." Percy's head shook slightly. "It's been two years since I've seen him, and the world has changed drastically since then. Who knows what changes it has had on him."

Jason arched a brow. "What are you thinking?"

Percy smirked, tapping a finger to his lips. "Maybe they should stay on with us." Jason narrowed his eyes. "It would allow us to keep an eye on them."

Jason smirked as well, nodding his head slowly. "I like this plan."

"Besides, I have that message to tend to tomorrow, so I can't really put any effort into investigating them until I get back."

Jason nodded. "I'll keep an eye on them."

"You're going with me."

"Oh. Uh, I'll have Apollo or someone keep an eye on them then."

Percy chuckled and nodded. "Good. I'll talk to Athena before we leave, have her start looking for us."

Jason frowned when the water was shut off in the bathroom. "Just keep an eye on him," he hissed. "I don't want to wake up to find you got your throat slit."

Percy chuckled and rolled his eyes, ushering Jason to the door. "I think I'll be fine."

Jason stopped in the doorway to turn around and frown at Percy. "Seriously, be careful. I still don't like that they are going to be here." His blue eyes shifted towards the bedroom. "They can't stay here permanently, Percy."

"I didn't say they would." He let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "But we do try to help people in need."

Jason's blue eyes returned to Percy's face. He stepped off of Percy's step, his hair matting down from the rain. "You can't save everyone, Percy." With that, the blond turned and walked off, sliding his hands into his pockets.

He heard the bedroom door open behind him as he shut the door. Percy scrunched his lips as turned around, nearly ready for bed himself. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks as he took in the sight before him.

Will stood there, soaking wet, a towel being secured to his waist. His hair was stuck to his forehead, and water was dripping from his body. He smirked over at Percy as he finished securing the towel.

Percy cleared his throat and looked away. "You could have gotten dressed in there."

The blond shrugged. "Not like you haven't seen it all before."

The raven haired youth gave him an annoyed stare. "I saw you take your clothes in the bedroom."

The blond shrugged, wagging his eyebrows once. "Did I? Whoops, silly me."

He was trying to push Percy, a dark place in Percy's mind voiced. He was being greedy, wanting to pick back up where they left off. Who was to say that he wouldn't try sneaking into Percy's bedroom in the middle of the night? Percy's green eyes darkened as they stared at the floor.

Percy gasped as he was shoved back, onto the couch. Will's wet and naked knee was placed between Percy's legs, dangerously close to his crotch. Will smiled innocently down at him. "I'm sure you've been lonely, and I just want to help."

Percy glared up at him and pushed the blond's leg away. "You can help by not doing that. Regardless of if he's here, I'm still with Nico."

Will frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Percy, we've messed around before. Can't we just help each other out for one night?"

"We messed around before I met Nico."

Will's eyes darkened and stared blankly at him. "You mean when you were stringing us both along?" The blond grunted and stood up fully. "Yeah, real sweet."

Green eyes glared. "I wasn't trying to hurt either of you."

Will huffed and walked back to the bedroom, where he returned with a pair of boxers. "Whatever, it's in the past," the blond mumbled, slipping them on under his towel. After he was done, he unfastened the towel and let it fall to the floor. He collapsed on the couch next to Percy, letting one of his legs drape across Percy's lap.

Percy frowned and pushed the leg off. "You should get some sleep. I'll have to go somewhere tomorrow, but you can feel free to look around the camp until I return."

Will faked a gasp. "Unescorted? I'm honored, Percy."

The Omega grunted and stood up. "Just behave yourself while I'm gone."

Will grinned and slid down on the couch. He spread his legs wide, managing to draw Percy's attention. His grin grew when Percy looked him in the eye. Percy quickly cleared his throat and looked away, taking a few steps back.

Will tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure you don't want company in your bed?" Percy's green eyes flickered back to him when the blond's hand wandered towards the hem of his boxers.

Percy bit down on the inside of his cheek and forced himself to look away as Will's hand slid under the fabric. He heard the blond let out a sigh, but refused to look at Will again. "I'm sure, now stay on the couch."

Will sighed and fell onto his side, a groan escaping from his lips. "Why are you so frustrating, Percy?" He grumbled into the cushion.

The green-eyed young man rolled his eyes and stepped towards his bedroom. "Let me find you a blanket and pillow."

He stepped into his bedroom, where he walked over to his bed. As he pulled an extra pillow from his bed, he levitated a blanket off of the top of his wardrobe. He gathered them both up in his hands and walked back into the living room with a yawn. Will took them with a smile before collapsing back onto the pillow, spreading the blanket out over himself.

Percy stretched his arms above his head, drawing the attention of Will's blue eyes. "I'm going to get some sleep as well. Wake me if you need anything." He narrowed his eyes when Will grinned and prepared to open his mouth. "Not for anything sexual, Will," he sighed.

The blond chuckled and shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying. Anyways, fine. Goodnight, Percy."

* * *

Percy pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes. He let the hot water cascade off of his body, his back pressed against the shower wall. He hadn't slept much last night, he was unable to. How was he supposed to sleep with this meeting happening today? There were so many questions that needed answers, but would this person be willing to provide them?

Were they a threat, or were they allies? Was Percy walking into a trap, or the company of a friend?

And then there had been the personal matters that had kept him up for most of the night. Some part of Percy's mind had wanted him to go get Will and bring him back to his bed. But he hadn't done that. He didn't know if they would have done anything. Mainly, Percy had just wanted the company. After sleeping alone for the past year, he missed having someone to lie next to him.

The other part of Percy's mind had yet to stop scolding him for all of those thoughts. How angry would Nico have been with him if he had witnessed any of this? And Nico was the main reason that Percy hadn't gone to get him last night. Not because Nico wasn't there and still his boyfriend, but because Will just wasn't Nico. No one could ever be Nico, no one could ever replace him.

But what if Nico's disappearance had been the pale youth's way of breaking things off with Percy? But he wouldn't have done that, right? He wouldn't have been so cold, would he? Did all of this mean Percy was single and able to pursue someone else? Did he want to?

Percy ran his hands through his hair again before reaching down to turn off the water. He just stood there for a moment, letting droplets of water fall from his body. Green eyes blinked, staring unfocused at the wall. How long did he really have to wait for these answers?

He reached out and a towel hovered over to him. Wrapping it around himself, Percy walked back into his room. The young man walked around in circles for a moment before removing his towel and drying his hair off with it. The blue fabric was wrapped back around him as he made his way back into his bathroom, where he picked up his toothbrush. His eyes dilated a single time, the water turning itself on.

Percy's face nearly resembled a scowl as he stared at himself in the mirror. He quietly stared back at his reflection as he brushed his teeth, resisting all of his urges to punch the reflective surface. Seeing himself...it just didn't feel like it was him. Who was this stranger?

After finishing with his teeth, he grunted and made quick work to get out of his bathroom. He grabbed the change of clothes that he laid out and headed out his door. Will was still asleep on the couch, only his nose and eyes exposed over the blanket. The blond's arm hung off the edge of the couch, just barely touching the floor. A small smile touched at Percy's lips as he walked by the sleeping blond, seeking his breakfast.

He had managed to get halfway through a bowl of cereal before the blond on the couch stirred from his deep slumber. Will sat up and stretched, the covers falling off his his nearly naked body. Percy stared at the blond's back for a long time, until the blond turned around and looked in his direction.

Percy quickly turned his attention back to his cereal as Will blinked at him, rubbing at his eyes. "Morning," Will yawned.

Percy grunted in reply, swallowing another spoonful of his cereal. The blond stood up and straightened out his boxers, something Percy refused to look at. And it didn't help that the blond decided to walk over to where he was sitting at the bar, still clad only in his underwear.

Will stretched his arms above his head and raised up on his toes with a long groan. "So, is everyone responsible for fixing their own meals?"

Green eyes flickered up to meet blue for a moment. "You can eat in the cafeteria. We set it up for convenience." He picked his bowl up and finished off his breakfast before depositing it into the sink.

Will nodded with another yawn. "I think I'll wait until after you leave." He rested his elbows on the bar and smiled at Percy. For some reason, Percy found himself thankful for the wooden surface that kept them separated. "I will have another shower, though, if you don't mind."

Percy shrugged and stood up. "Knock yourself out. But I'll be gone by the time you get out."

Will pouted at him. "Or you could join me."

"I already had my shower, and no." Percy sighed and rubbed at his neck. "We went over this last night."

"Don't get anywhere if you don't try." Will chuckled and winked before grabbing the clothes he had never put on and heading to the bedroom, though he stopped in the doorway. "Thanks for letting us stay here, Percy."

"Don't mention it." As Will turned to head into the bedroom, Percy reached out, only to remember he was across the room. "Wait."

Will turned around, eyebrows raised. "Yes?"

"I, uh, needed to talk to you." Percy walked around the counter, rubbing his arm. "Would you and your group want to stay a little longer?"

Will blinked in surprise. "I, uh-wow. Um, sure, if it's not any trouble." He scratched the side of his neck, his brow furrowed. "What brought this about?"

The Special shrugged. "Just thought you could stay a little longer." The raven haired youth sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Hey, I've got to go, but I'll see you when I get back."

Will nodded, his blue eyes locked with Percy's green ones. It was slightly unnerving for Percy, though he couldn't really place why. "Be safe," Will muttered before disappearing into the bedroom.

Percy turned on his heel and walked out his door. The sky was still cloudy, the ground muddy. He let out a breath before stepping out, into the camp. Maybe things would go their way today. He could only hope.

He found Hazel standing against one of the pillars in the pavilion. The girl had an odd look on her face as she stared off into the distance. Percy walked up to her and stood beside her, looking down at her with a raised brow.

"What's going on, Hazel."

The girl frowned, not looking up at him. "Drew made a friend."

Percy blinked before following Hazel's gaze. Sure enough, Drew was engaged in conversation with Amphitrite. Percy shrugged and placed his hands behind his head. "I think it's a good thing. I've informed Jason that they will be here for a few days, so I'd like all of us to get along during the duration of their stay."

Hazel sighed and looked at Percy. "Is that a good idea?"

"Just trying to keep an eye on them, for whatever reason." He smiled and clapped Hazel on the back. "Relax. Besides, Drew could use a friend."

"Why defend her? You don't even like her that much."

The raven haired young man shrugged. Percy and Hazel began walking, heading for the ranger station. "Doesn't mean I don't think she deserves a friend. If she'd stop trying to get into my pants, I'd try harder to be her friend."

Hazel laughed, nudging Percy's shoulder. "It's all your fault. You're just perpetuating it."

Percy narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "How the hell am I perpetuating it?"

"You should try not looking so handsome."

Percy smiled and placed a hand on his chest. "Why, Hazel, I don't think Frank would be very happy to hear you flirting with another man."

The girl playfully stuck her tongue out as she opened the door to the ranger station. "I can't help myself."

The two laughed as the elevator began to descend. Percy smiled down at the floor. He knew it was all a joke. Hazel was devoted to Frank, there was no question about that. He liked to think that he had been trying to take a page out of their book for the past year, enduring his crisis with Nico.

Leo and Lou were at the main computer, the latter shoving the Latino boy out of the way so she could get a good lock on the building Percy and the others were going to rendezvous at. Frank stood up from where he was slouched against a wall and made his way over to them.

"Shouldn't we wait for Clarisse? She hasn't come back yet."

Percy sighed and glanced over at Annabeth, who shrugged. "We can't wait," he replied.

Apollo chuckled and stretched on the couch, leaning his head on Jason's shoulder. "You know she won't be happy that you didn't wait for her."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, shutting a book she had been reading. "And we don't need her type of...diplomacy for this."

"That's using the word loosely," Rachel mumbled.

Annabeth sighed and stood up. "She'd probably end up charging off and trying to lop off this person's head. Wouldn't get many answers if that happened."

Leo turned around and folded his arms over his chest. "I vote that Percy just goes in there, reads their mind, and all of you get out."

Jason rolled his eyes, his fingers running through Apollo's hair. "I'm sure that will go over so well. You saw they had all that footage of us. I'm sure this person knows of Percy's abilities. But I am with Annabeth on Clarisse."

Grover cleared his throat and nodded over to the large clock on the wall. His eyes returned to meet Percy's in a silent stare. "We need to leave soon."

Jason stood up and cracked his knuckles, drawing an annoyed look from his boyfriend. "Let's get going, Perce!"

Annabeth grabbed the back of the blond's collar as he made for the door. "Hold on a second there, sparky, it's going to be more than just the two of you."

Percy shrugged. "I do want to keep it light, but that's fine. Annabeth, you and Frank are coming as well."

Rachel cleared her throat. She glared at the back of Percy's head as he made to walk off. Annabeth shook her head, still holding fast to Jason's shirt. Rachel huffed and reached out, grabbing Percy by the ear. The green-eyed young man yelped as he was jerked backwards.

"Hold on there, big boy, we're not done here. You're taking someone else."

Percy rubbed his ear, giving her a dirty look. "Fine, fine. Hazel, you want to go?" The girl perked up and nodded. Percy's green eyes shifted back to Rachel. "We good now?"

Rachel smiled sweetly before nodding. Percy continued to rub his ear as he walked towards the exit, Jason at his side. The blond leaned in to whisper to him. "You know, sometimes, I wonder who's really in charge around here."

Percy frowned. "Dude, don't even get me started."

"Yeah, you should see Apollo when he's annoyed with-" Blue and green eyes widened as a fireball flew past their heads.

They turned around to find Apollo glaring at them, another fireball bouncing in his hand. "And what are the rest of us supposed to do while you're away?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck, secretly making sure none of his hair got singed. "I'll need some of you to keep an eye on our guests. Apollo and Grover, I'll leave you two in charge of that." Percy lowered his hand, pleased to find all of his hair intact. "Leo, you can catch Clarisse up to speed when she gets back. Lou, keep an eye on us."

Apollo smiled and nodded. His attention turned to Jason, tapping his foot. The slightly taller blond cleared his throat, his cheeks tinging pink, and walked over to his boyfriend. Apollo placed a hand on the back of Jason's neck, both of them closing their eyes as their lips locked in a brief kiss.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Are we good now?"

Everyone nodded. Percy hesitated a moment, making sure no one else wanted his attention. When everyone was silent, he sighed and made for the elevator, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel now following behind him and Jason.

As they rode the elevator up, Annabeth strapped her compacted battle suit to her back. While he didn't want to call himself stupid, he still didn't fully understand how that thing didn't way a ton when it was compacted.

Percy nudged Jason's shoulder. "I still find it odd at how you grew taller than Apollo in the past two years."

The blond chuckled. "I think he often ponders the same thing."

It took nearly half an hour, but they finally managed to get loaded into a car. Percy let Frank drive, while Hazel took shotgun. Percy sat in the back, next to the window. Annabeth sat beside him, a GPS in her lap. Jason sat on Annabeth's other side, staring out the window.

"How far is it?" Jason asked as they reached the boarder of the camp.

"Not that far," Annabeth mumbled. "It's just in town down the road."

Hazel turned around with a frown. "Who do you think it could be? Is there anyone any of you knew before all of this happened?"

Percy, Jason, and Annabeth looked at each other before shaking their heads. "No," Percy whispered. "Frank, Jason, anyone else maybe from U.N.I.T.?"

Frank blew out a breath. He finally shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the road. "Not really. Most people left with Clarisse, when Zeus started rounding up Specials."

"But you didn't," Annabeth reminded him.

"No, I didn't. I didn't feel right being there, after they replaced Chiron like that."

Jason sighed. "Frank's right, though. Anyone that would have left is already at the camp."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "But whoever it was wanted you, Percy. That message was specifically for your ears."

Percy's brow furrowed. "But I don't think I know anyone that would want to talk to me so badly."

"Take this exit," Annabeth said, leaning forward in her seat to point. Frank nodded his head and drifted over into the exit lane.

Percy let his head fall back against the seat with a sigh. None of this was making any sense. What was he missing? Did he know this person? Whoever it was obviously knew him.

"Maybe it's a Special," Hazel suggested, "possibly an Omega."

"We could only be so lucky," Jason mumbled.

The blonde in between the two young men shook her head. "One isn't going to make a large difference in this fight. Zeus has an army. Like Frank told us, he went around the world and collected Specials."

"And put those that resisted on ice," Frank added.

Hazel fidgeted in her seat. "Don't remind me," she mumbled.

Frank's brow furrowed, his lips tilting down. "I'm sorry." He reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Take a left at this stop sign," Annabeth voiced. Frank did as he was told. "Now a right two roads down." Again, Frank followed the blond's instructions.

After navigating around the large town for nearly five minutes, they pulled up outside an abandoned high school building. "This is it?" Jason asked, closing his door.

Annabeth glanced down at her GPS. "Yeah, this is the place."

Percy glanced around the abandoned building. Most of the windows were busted out. Vines had already begun to grow on the side of the building. There were still a few cars outside, one standing out from the rest. It was a black four door car, a very expensive looking one. Unlike the other cars in the lot, it wasn't dirty, and it still had all of its windows and tires.

Green eyes narrowed at the vehicle. "Well, whoever they are, they are already here."

"Come on, this way." Annabeth motioned towards the school's gymnasium.

They stopped in front of the doors. The lock had been broken on the door. Annabeth sat down her battle suit and handed the GPS to Hazel. The blonde hit the compacted suit with her foot and it sprang to life. Percy watched as the suit crept up her body, and, before long, her entire body was encased in the metal suit. Annabeth smirked as her face was hidden behind her helmet.

Percy let out a long breath. "All right, let's go."

Jason and Frank pushed the double doors open. Annabeth stepped in first, shining a light from her shoulder around the large open area. Nothing. Percy and Hazel stepped in next, the girl staring down at the GPS. Jason and Frank quietly shut the doors behind them. Hazel led them towards the center of the basketball court before stopping.

"This is the exact spot," she informed them.

Percy looked around the place. He arched a brow. "I don't see-"

He was cut off by the lights powering on. They all took defensive stances when they spotted a lot of people in the bleachers, all of them wearing military or tactical clothing and armor. They all carried guns in their hands, but they didn't look like normal guns. Percy knew what they were, he had seen them back in New York. Nullifying guns, designed to render a Special's powers ineffective for several hours.

Several men clicked buttons in their hands. Several flat disks on the floor lit up, emitting a bright blue color. Percy frowned down at them. "Shit," he cursed under his breath.

"Are you sure you don't regret coming here?" Jason growled.

A door opened. "I would hope that he would not."

Percy's mouth hung open slightly as the last person he expected to see entered the room. Her long, perfectly straight brown hair hung down to her back. Her brown eyes were dark, and reminded Percy of the color of earth. She wore a black business suit with matching heels. Around her neck was the exact same necklace that Percy had last seen her in, several emeralds embedded into the silver necklace.

She walked forward, the sound of her heels echoing loudly in the quiet gymnasium, and held out her hand. She even had on the same color of dark green nail polish that she had worn to the funeral of Percy's parents. "Perseus, it has been a long time."

Percy's brow furrowed as he shook her hand. "Gaea, wasn't it?"

Gaea smiled at him. "I am very pleased that you remember me."

"Percy, who is she?" Frank whispered.

The dark haired woman smiled at him, but Percy could tell she was miffed by the presence of those with him. "An old friend of his parents."

Jason glanced around at Gaea's soldiers. "If you're an old friend, why all the armed men?"

Gaea waved a hand absently at all of the armed men. "They were simply worried about my safety. It is a dangerous world that we live in after all, Mr. Grace."

Jason narrowed his eyes at the mention of his last name. Percy pursed his lips. "If you're worried I'd hurt you, I give you my word that I won't."

Gaea smiled at him, lacing her hands together and taking a few steps towards Percy's group. "Oh, I have no doubt that you will be nothing short of respectable, Perseus. As I said, it was their decision to come along." Percy winced as one of Gaea's green nails was tapped against his forehead. "You are not the one that worries me."

Percy frowned, catching on to her meaning. How much did she really know?

Annabeth huffed. "And what's up with all of that footage you sent us? Why were you watching all of us?"

Gaea shrugged, continuing to circle the group. "I have my reasons. Knowledge is power, and in these times, people need all the power they can get." The woman stopped moving and made a small gesture with her hand. "I assure you, I meant no harm by it. It was for just as much your benefit as it was mine."

Hazel frowned at the woman, resisting Frank as he tried to push the girl behind him. "I seriously doubt that."

"Believe or believe not, but in the end, will your decision be of the best interest to you?"

Jason's eyebrows knitted together. "We didn't come here for you to pose us riddles."

Gaea sighed and cupped her chin. "I feel I am entitled to keep an eye on Percy. After all, much of who he is can be attributed to my assistance to his parents."

Percy's mind began to race. What was she saying? Was there more that his parents hadn't told him? "What...what do you mean?"

Gaea slipped a hand into her sleeve and pulled out a portable hard drive. Slipping it to Percy, she gave him a smile. "You parents never told you about their connection to me, did they?" Percy shook his head as he inspected the drive. "They worked for me." She placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "And, when you were sick, I helped them find a cure. Athena was not around back then, they needed my help. Who do you think talked your father into his desire of making you as close to perfect as humanly possible?"

Percy's brow furrowed as he closed his hand around the drive. "You made me like this? Why couldn't you have just cured me?"

Gaea blinked. "I must admit that I did not know the extent of what your abilities would be when I helped your father with the alterations to your genetic structure." She hummed to herself, deep in thought, as she began walking again. "But, in the overall scheme of things, it seems to have worked out for us all. I have given you the power you will need to overthrow Zeus."

"It's your fault all of this happened in the first place!" The metal disks began to shake on the floor.

"Interesting," Gaea mumbled. She pursed her lips and pulled out a portable tablet, her fingers keying in information. A finger was tapped against her lip as she studied over something on the screen before pocketing the device. "Quite astounding. Your powers seem to exceed the energy levels of the dampening fields." She cupped her chin and turned slightly away, staring off to the side. "Perhaps aggression is the key..."

Percy's brow furrowed as he let his arms drop to his side. Annabeth sighed and took the drive from him, slipping it into a slot in her suit. "Just tell me why you did it," Percy whispered calmly.

"You were sick." Gaea placed her hands behind her back and turned to face Percy. I was simply concerned that my friends would lose their child. If we had not done the procedure, you would not have survived." She gestured before her. "Do you tend to get sick?" Percy frowned and looked down, shaking his head. "Your genetic code was altered for that. However, it was your father that wanted to find a way to perfect you."

The green-eyed young man took in a deep breath. Those were not words that a child wanted to hear about their parent, especially their dead parent. But was it true? His mother had said something similar. Nevertheless, it hurt.

"Why aren't there more people like me running around?" Percy whispered.

"I am not in the business of running an army, Perseus."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he mumbled.

Gaea fixed him with a stare. "We thought it best to leave it alone." She frowned at Percy. "Do you know why Athena was created? It was to keep our work secret. She was created to make sure that no one would ever get their hands on that data, so no one could replicate our work." Her brown eyes darkened as they returned to Jason. "People like his father."

Jason glared back at her. "The only father I cared about is dead."

Gaea arched a perfect eyebrow. "And your sister?"

Jason's eyes grew in surprise. He swayed, nearly tripping backwards. She had struck a chord, and she knew it. "You-where is she?"

Gaea laced her hands together in front of her and took two steps to the left. "It seems we could be of use to each other. I could use your assistance, and I know something of great importance to your friend here...and perhaps you too, Perseus."

Percy felt a chill run down his spine, the hairs on his arms standing up. He shouldn't get his hopes up, but the way she implied that...

"Do you know where he is?" Percy whispered.

"I do," Gaea replied simply. "I can even show you where it is. All I ask is that you accompany me back to one of my labs. We can talk there, and I can give you the coordinates, plus something extra for what I know you are planning." She held out a perfectly manicured hand for Percy. "So?"

"Tell me where he is, and I'll help you with whatever you want."

Annabeth grabbed his arm. "Percy," she hissed. "Think about what you're doing first."

"It's fine, Annabeth." The Omega turned back to face the mysterious woman in front of him. "What would I have to do?"

Gaea pursed her lips, shrugging her shoulders. "Nothing really that you do not already wish to do. I ask that you take down Zeus, and I am willing to offer assistance with that. But, after that is over, I would ask that you join me in my organization and help rebuild." A smile touched at her lips as she touched her hair. "Your friends can even join you with me."

"And what do you get out of this?"

"Believe it or not, Perseus, not everyone is out for their own gain." The woman made a gesture with her hands as she took a few steps around the group. "I simply want to see things restored to what they were. Perhaps it was not a perfect world, but you must admit that it is better than what we have now. But, perhaps with your help, I could make some changes, improve upon what we had."

Frank narrowed his eyes. "And why do we have to go to your lab? So you can lock us up and experiment on us?"

Gaea's eyebrows rose briefly. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, chuckling quietly. "No. You will be welcome to leave at your own leisure." She cleared her throat and gestured to the doors. "I wouldn't mind some blood samples from most of you, Annabeth excluded, obviously. However, I will not force any of that upon you."

Jason's brows knitted together. "Take whatever you want, just tell me where my sister is."

"In due time." The woman sighed and straightened her business suit before walking towards the doors. "If you will all follow me to my lab."

* * *

Gaea had taken them to a small city, an hour away from their original rendezvous spot at the high school. The woman got out of the back of her black car, which had been surrounded by heavily armored black S.W.A.T. trucks. She motioned for everyone to follow her inside, and the others did as they were bid.

The inside of the hospital looked horrible. The place had, apparently, been ransacked after everything had gone to shit. Gaea snapped her fingers and most of her armed guards dispersed. The woman boarded a large elevator and motioned for Percy and his group to join her. The elevator shut behind them, sealing them in with the mysterious woman.

Percy's brow furrowed when the doors opened again. They were in a large, white, open area. Several scientists with white lab coats walked around, while some were at stations, studying data or specimens. Giant monitors were positioned around the room, and in one corner sat three large specimen tanks.

"We're here, now tell me where my sister is," Jason demanded.

Gaea let out a sigh. "Patience is not a virtue of your friend here, is it?" She asked, glancing at Percy.

Percy actually smiled and shook his head. His smile faltered, however, when he remembered the real reason why he had come. "But, it would be nice if you told us where they are. I assure you, we won't rush off."

Gaea exhaled and nodded her head. "Very well. How about a compromise? I tell you some of it now, and then show you the rest afterwards." Percy briefly glanced at his friends, nodding when there were no objections. "Very good." A finger was raised to touch at her lips. "As for Jason's sister, I cannot say. We had pinpointed her location, but she has since gone missing again. I believe that Zeus is having her moved around."

Jason's eyes darkened. Percy half expected electricity to shoot out from him, but nothing happened. He glanced around them, but didn't see any of those disks Gaea had used back at the gym. Perhaps they were hidden?

Jason clenched his fists. "He has her?"

"I am sorry," Gaea said gently. "However, I am willing, as I said, to offer assistance in obtaining her."

Percy swallowed and nodded. "What about Nico?"

A corner of the woman's lip tilted up. "That I can help with. He is being held against his will, but I do not believe it is by Zeus."

"Special hunters," Hazel whispered, her lips pursed.

Gaea gave a small nod. "I believe so. I can show you the place."

Percy swallowed again. He stared down at the ground, letting out a long breath. He silently nodded his head. "You said you wanted blood samples?"

The brunette smiled and gestured to a man off to the side.

The scars were the first thing Percy noticed. It was like the man had been clawed by something, very painfully. He looked to be dressed nicely underneath his lab coat, his sweater and button up shirt neatly pressed. The man kept his black hair in a short ponytail, which barely managed to touch his back. His grey eyes were calculating, nearly reminding Percy of Annabeth's own, but darker.

The man held his hand out and Percy hesitantly shook it. "Hello, my name is Prometheus. If you would all come with me?" He motioned over to a small station with a long bench, and they began to follow after him. He gestured for them to sit down, which they complied, all except Jason.

The blond stood there with his arms crossed, a frustrated look on his face. "I just want to find my sister. Is all of this really necessary?"

Prometheus blinked, turning to look at Gaea. The woman sighed. "If you prefer we-"

"No," Percy interrupted, "it's fine." He narrowed his eyes at Jason, silently demanding the blond cooperate.

Jason huffed, finally sitting down beside the others. Prometheus stared at them hesitantly for a moment before picking up the first needle and injecting it into Percy's arm. The raven haired young man's lips tilted down as he watched his blood begin to drain through the small tube.

His green eyes shifted their focus, landing on Gaea. "How did you know my parents?"

Gaea looked up from her clear tablet. "We went to the same university, studied under the same program." She placed the tablet under her arm. "We assimilated ourselves into the same routines and habits after a few late night discussions of our theories on genetics. This was, of course, before we knew about Specials, so it was fascinating to us to discuss the possibilities of human evolution."

"What does that make us?"

Gaea studied his face for a moment before pulling the tablet back out. "The next step in human evolution, with you at the top of the pyramid." Her brown eyes returned to skimming over data. "I'd like a scan of all of you as well, but that can wait for another day."

Percy stared off into space, processing everything that he had learned so far today. She knew where Nico was? He was close now, close to finding Nico. So why did the brown-eyed young man still feel so far away? He would rest easier, though, when Nico was safely back with him.

"Can you please tell me where he is now?"

Gaea shut off her tablet and placed it on a nearby table. "So close to perfection, Perseus, and yet you hold yourself back by human emotions."

"Please," Percy whispered, clutching at his jeans.

The woman pursed her lips, meeting Percy's green eyes with her brown ones. "Just...get this done, and then I will tell you everything I know about Nico di Angelo's whereabouts, you have my word."

Percy nodded, rubbing his arm when the needle was removed. Prometheus rolled in his chair, coming to sit in front of Hazel. Percy let his head drop the slightest amount, blankly watching the floor. Nothing else really mattered to him right now. He just needed to comply with this one task, and then he could know what he had been yearning to find out for the past year. It was all so close.

Hazel chewed on her lip while Prometheus removed the needle from her arm before he moved on to Frank, who had a death grip on Hazel's other hand. Jason sulked next to the large Asian, his face set in a scowl as he stared ahead, unfocused. Percy figured the blond was having similar thoughts to that of his own: just comply and get it over with.

Gaea walked off as Prometheus finished up with Frank, murmuring to herself. "Why all the precautions?" Annabeth whispered. "She says she knew Percy's parents, so is this all necessary?"

"Don't mind Ms. Gaea." Prometheus gave them an encouraging smile as he picked up the last needle. "She is just a cautious person. And it's not any of you exactly she is worried about."

"Kronos," Percy supplied, whispering it to his lap.

Hazel's head tilted to the side as she attempted to meet Percy's eyes, to no avail. "I thought you killed Kronos, Percy?"

"But not the damage he left me with." His eyes drifted up to meet Prometheus's grey ones. "I'm not going to do anything, I swear."

The man cleared his throat as he drained Jason of a portion of his blood. "I don't think she's worried about you, I think it's more to keep the rest of us calm. She seems very confident in the validity of your trust."

"I just want one thing," Percy whispered.

"And what would that be?" Gaea asked, her heels clicking as she stepped up to their station and picked her tablet back up.

"I just want you to give me Nico."

"I am afraid I cannot."

Percy's brow furrowed, his lips tilting down. Had she lied? "You said-"

Gaea sighed and brushed a strand of her hair back. "I cannot give him to you, because I do not have him." She pursed her lips and stared down at Prometheus, who smiled and nodded. "Very well, you are all done, so if you will follow me, I will show you what I know."

Percy and the rest of his group followed Gaea into a white office. The door slid closed behind them. Gaea sat down at a black desk and laced her hands together. She picked up a remote and clicked it. The left wall turned on, showing an image of a revolving Earth. Gaea stood back up and walked over to the wall, her tablet in hand.

She tapped on the tablet a few times and the image of Earth zoomed in to California. Percy's blood drained from his face as, little by little, the screen zoomed in on the very building that Clarisse had been scouting at just the day before.

"Oh shit," Jason cursed under his breath.

Gaea nodded once. "I take it you are already aware of this facility?"

"We-" Percy cleared his throat when his voice broke. "We are aware of it, but not what its purpose was."

Gaea nodded again. She tapped her tablet again and the image changed. Percy's brow furrowed as he now stared at, what looked like, surveillance footage from inside the building. Soldiers with guns patrolled the halls, gurneys with blood were scattered around the place, and one room had scientists working on samples of things that Percy could not identify.

"What is this place?" Annabeth hissed.

Gaea tapped her tablet one more time. Percy felt his stomach drop. He now stared at a room with people laying on top of metal tables They were all hooked up to IVs and looked malnourished. Hazel and Annabeth covered their mouths.

"They're Specials," Hazel whispered. "I know because that's how Zeus had us hooked up. Those drugs are keeping them in a coma."

Gaea nodded. "I am afraid that the girl is right."

Percy swallowed a heavy lump in his throat. He could feel his pulse quickening, his heart sinking slowly. "Ni-Nico is there?"

The woman sighed and hugged the tablet to her. "These people are not Specials themselves. They are normal people, Special hunters. But, if you want Nico, he is in this facility."

The blacks of Percy's eyes exploded, swirling and covering his eyes. His fists clenched at his sides as his body began to shake. Nico was there, of all places. He was there, and he was dying. Percy had to get to him, before it was too late. Any of them that stood in his way would regret it. He had no intention of being merciful in this instance. These were the people responsible for Nico's absence in his life for the past year.

Gaea's eyebrows rose as she stared up at the lights, which were now flickering. A few objects on her desk began to shift, some flying off and hitting the wall. Her eyes returned to Percy, surprise apparent on her features. Blood began to trickle from the green-eyed young man's nose, creating a small pool at his feet. Small lines of blood trailed out from his clenched fists from where his nails were digging into his skin.

"I will level that building," Percy growled.

Gaea observed him cautiously. "I must implore you to control yourself. If this keeps up, I fear you might trigger the facility's automated defense system."

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, reaching out and touching his arm. "You need to calm down."

Percy took in several deep breaths, his hands still trembling at his sides. He gasped and attempted to slow his breathing as his eyes returned to normal. He stumbled backwards, but Frank and Jason caught him, helping him to keep balance.

Gaea sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "That drive I gave you earlier will assist you. On it, you will find everything you will need to hack into their facility's defenses." She raised an eyebrow, still observing Percy. "After that, you will just have to worry about their guns, which I'm sure will not be a challenge for you."

"We need to go," Percy said, taking a final deep breath. His shoulders relaxed and the tension seemed to lift from the room. "I need to get him out of there."

Gaea gave a small nod. "Very well. Should you need me, that drive will also provide you with a way to contact me." She cleared her throat as Percy and the others filed out of her office. Percy looked at her as she fell into step beside him. "After he has recovered, we can begin our plans for dealing with Zeus. And once he has fully healed, we can enact those plans."

Percy smiled and nodded. "Thank you, this means a lot to me."

"I must advise you to act soon on this. It is my belief that Zeus may be about to get his hands on Nico and the other. If that happens, no one could know where Nico would end up."

Annabeth frowned, glancing between Gaea and Percy. "Other? What other?"

The brunette let her eyes fall on Hazel as they reached the elevator. "I believe your friend knows the answer to that."

Hazel blinked, confused. But Percy wasn't. "The one that helped her escape."

Hazel gasped, earning a scowl from Frank. The Asian grumbled under his breath as he boarded the elevator with Jason and Annabeth. "Possibly," Gaea replied. "I am not as certain as I am with Nico, but I do believe it a high order of probability that it is the one that assisted her."

Percy and Gaea locked eyes again, the young man nodding in her direction. "Thank you again. I promise I'll contact you again, as soon as I have Nico taken care of."

The woman nodded back and let them board the elevator. Percy's heart began to pound as they ascended up, into the hospital. Percy quickly marched down the halls, the others trying to keep up with him at a steady pace. He moved to get into the driver's seat, but Frank stopped him.

"You're in no condition to drive, Percy."

Annabeth rested an arm on the rear door. "He's right, you need to calm down."

Percy took a deep breath. "I'm about as calm as I'm going to get."

The blonde squeezed his shoulder as she slid into the middle of the back seat. "Let Frank handle it, Percy."

The young man swallowed and nodded, tossing Frank an appreciative look. They were right, he needed to be calm. It would do him no good to go in there in a full-blown rage. But, the question was could he keep himself calm when they got there?

Hazel slowly turned around in her seat. Her eyes were filled with concern as she watch Percy sit there, motionless. "Are you going to be okay?"

Percy slowly nodded, his head moving on its own. His heart felt like it might explode any minute, and he was doing his best to calm all his desires to cut down every person that was working at that facility.

"You need to calm down, Percy," Annabeth whispered. She grabbed his shaking hand, attempting to steady it.

His eyes were dull as they stared at the back of Frank's head. "I can't," he practically whispered. "He could have been there this whole time, Annabeth. He's been suffering this whole time, and I wasn't there to protect him."

"It wasn't your fault."

Percy was sure he looked near crazed, though he refused to look at the mirror to check. His head was spinning worse and worse with each breath that he took. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to control himself when they actually got there, but he would have to. If he accidentally hurt Nico, he would never forgive himself.

By the time they got back to camp, there was a dull ringing in his ears. The door to the car flung open as he reached out to do it himself. He attempted to take more shallow breaths as he stepped out of the car, but it didn't seem to help. Annabeth took to rubbing his back as they walked through the camp, the sun now beginning to set. It was quiet, though. At least, until the siren went off.

Percy practically growled through his teeth as he glared towards the ranger station. The dirt rose up before he took his next step. It fell back to the earth as he continued on his way, which was now nearing a jog. He just wanted to get more men and get going, Nico needed to be rescued.

They found Clarisse with Will pinned beneath her. The blond was covered from head to toe in mud, and more was being dispensed on him from a chute out of the side of the ranger station. The blond attempted to get free and scurry away, but Clarisse held strong and the mud just caused him to slip.

"Hey!" Percy yelled, causing the entire camp to fall silent. Everyone turned to look at him, Will's eyes wide. "What the hell is going on here?"

Will attempted to wipe some of the mud from his face. "I was just trying to look around, like you said I could."

Clarisse gave him a shove, sending him back into the mud. "Caught him trying to sneak into the lab."

Amphitrite shot Clarisse a dirty look as she moved forward to help Will to his feet. "The intruder has been dealt with, Percy," came Athena's voice from a speaker.

Percy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really don't have time for this." He caught Will's hand when the blond nearly fell again. "I did say that, but I didn't mean anywhere you wanted to go. That building is off limits."

"Oh." Will worked on trying to rub the mud from his body. "I'm sorry, Percy, it won't happen again. I'm going to go clean up."

Percy nodded. "Fine. Apollo, Clarisse, we have work to do."

Will's lips tilted down as his head tilted to the side. Apollo pushed past Clarisse, who grunted at him. "What's up, Percy?" The curly haired blond asked.

"We found him."

Apollo's mouth fell open before his expression brightened. "No way! That's great! Where is he, though?" The blond attempted to look around the returning group. "I don't see him."

"We need to get him." Annabeth was watching Will from the corner of her eye. Percy nudged her, bringing her focus back to the matter at hand. She pulled the drive out and held it up. "We need to hand this over to Athena. After that, we need to leave again, with more men."

Apollo frowned. "Where has he been?"

Percy's brow furrowed. "A Special concentration camp, in a coma."

Will stopped shaking the mud from his body and looked up. "Wait, you found Nico?"

Percy gave a nod, already pushing past everyone to get into the ranger station. Will took a step after him, but Clarisse stepped in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest. The blond held his hands up in defense before backing away.

Annabeth, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Apollo, and Clarisse filed in around Percy, while the green-eyed young man typed in the code for the lab. The doors shut and the floor descended. Percy let his head fall back in a groan. It had been a long day, and their work wasn't even over yet. It wouldn't be over, not until Nico was safely back in Percy's care.

Leo stuck his head out from around the corner when they arrived at the lab. "Everything good up there?"

Percy plucked the drive from Annabeth's hands and tossed it at Leo. "No time to explain. Upload that so Athena can make use of it. We found him, and we need to go get him."

Leo blinked. "What?"

Annabeth sighed and shoved past Leo, grabbing the drive again. "Nico. We found Nico."

Leo's mouth fell open. "Oh, damn, that's awesome!"

"Less talking, more working," Percy snapped, pacing around the lab.

Grover shot off of the couch. "When do you want to leave?"

"Now!" Annabeth and Percy shot back. The blonde shrugged when Percy looked at her funny.

"Just beating you to it," she smiled.

Percy rolled his eyes and went back to pacing. He didn't want to wait. "Can you have that ready by the time we get to the place?"

Leo shoved Annabeth out of the way, Athena appearing next to him. "Um, yes?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "I will have everything in order by the time you arrive at the facility."

"Good." Percy nodded. "Get more people, we need a small army." He went towards the elevator again, but stopped. "We'll need some larger vehicles, capable of transporting the civilians out of there."

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, coming through a door in the lab.

Percy held up a hand. "No time to explain, Leo can fill you in. Right now, we need to get going." He took a deep breath. "Everyone split up and get things ready. I want us ready to move in a little over half an hour. Get supply trucks, get people to fight. I want them to not even know what hit them."

* * *

_And...still no Nico. Well, sort of. You can probably figure out that he will finally appear in the next chapter, that I will promise. And, kudos if you guessed what the building was last chapter. As some of you might have noticed, Percy isn't completely sane right now. Finding Nico should do him a lot of good. So, would anyone like to take a wild guess at who the other Omega is that is being held there? The one that helped Hazel escape from Zeus. I will go ahead and say that anyone who wants to see Percy jealous will like this story at parts. That and protective. I do find it unfair that Nico rarely gets a love interest, outside of the main pairing, so I'm gonna work with that. Though, I sort of already do that in Children...and Shadows...oh well. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time, hopefully with Shadows._


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello again. I'm sure everyone will enjoy this chapter. Yes, it's probably for why you think. Also, I'd like to point out that I've got nothing else written right now, so it could be at least a week before I update anything else. I'm working on two chapters of Shadows right now. Then I'm probably going to do a chapter of Children, since everyone wants to know what happens when Nico wakes up. After that, I have a new project I'm working on and I need to write the next chapter of this. Busy, right? You have no idea. Keep in mind that I have work. I also procrastinate in my free time. I get distracted with League, recently Mass Effect, and now Civilization V. My life and time just disappears. But I'm going to sit down and write more, for you guys. I've been slacking, and I apologize for that._

_For all of you interested, I'm going to be doing another Halloween fic this year. But, this time, I'm going to start on it next month, or the beginning of October. That way, I have plenty of time to work everything out. While I was very happy with the one I did last year, I feel the emotional aspect with the loss of friends fell short. So, this time I'm going to come up with something darker and more disturbing. I know you're all thrilled and excited to lose more sleep. Welcome to my mind. _

_As a last note, thank you to all that review my stories. I really love you guys, you're all awesome. And especially thank you recently, for all the messages I read and responded to last night and this morning. I am stressed, and no I don't feel like broadcasting all my problems in an A/N. Just thank you for the support and being awesome. I don't think I could ask for better fans and readers. Now, on with the story._

_Warning: Hints of rape, death, violence, language._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 4

Two guards patrolled the electric fence, guns held in front of them. The moon was nowhere to be seen in the night sky. Rain poured heavily onto the two men as they made small talk and continued their patrol. A small rattling along the fence caught their attention. One of the guards motioned over to the fence, and the two slowly walked over, taking aim into the darkness.

"See anything?" One asked.

The one who had wanted to inspect the area paused, his eyes roaming the outer border of the fence. Nothing. "Must have just been the wind."

"How long do you think the storm's gonna last?"

"Wish it would fucking stop, getting soaked out here."

The two spun around when the fence rattled again. Their brows furrowed as the fence began to shake, a low grating noise resonating from the metal. The two men cursed and stumbled backwards as the fence began to bend outwards.

"Shit! What the fuck?"

In an instant, the fence shot inwards and was torn from its posts. An invisible force knocked into the two men, sending them, the fence, and anything else that the blast came in contact with backwards. The two pushed themselves off of the ground in a coughing fit.

Standing where the fence had once been stood a single young man, his eyes as black as night. His hair was wet and matted to his forehead. He looked almost feral as he reached out with his hand. Both guards gasped and clutched at their throats as they were lifted off of the ground, finding themselves unable to scream for help. And the alarms seemed to be malfunctioning.

Percy dropped his hand and the two fell to the ground, motionless. His dark eyes fell on the building as he continued on his way.

"Wait, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, running to catch up to him. "Don't be reckless."

The greens of Percy's eyes returned as he turned to face the blonde girl, water slinging from his hair. "They have Nico in there, Annabeth! I've waited two years, and I finally know where he is. I will kill everyone responsible for this atrocity."

"All of them?"

Percy spun around to find the dark haired man from his mirror standing there, completely dry. His grin was present as he spun the ring on his hand. Percy's eyes went black again as he shot forward, clasping the man by his collar.

"Now you see, don't you?" Kronos laughed at him.

Percy found Annabeth's hand around his wrist, using her suit's strength to pry the tan boy's hand off. Percy blinked slowly, his eyes finally focusing on Frank. "I'm sorry," he whispered, taking a step back from the Asian young man.

"S'all good," Frank replied, rubbing his neck.

Percy needed to control himself. Nico was right there, but it would do him no good if he brought the entire building down on top of his boyfriend. Still, he was not planning on being kind to any he found in that building. The only people that he planned on letting go were the Specials that were being kept in there.

He let out a breath before turning around. Annabeth and Frank were the closest to him at the moment, while Hazel, Clarisse, Apollo, Jason, and Grover were just entering the fence. A few of the other residents of the camp had stayed behind with the vehicles, in order to provide a quick escape.

"Let's just get in there." Percy expected as much from Clarisse, and he really did want to go along with her on this. The sooner they pulled this off, the sooner he would have Nico back. And Percy very much wanted Nico back. "I want to punch some faces in, Jackson."

"Preferably without us getting injured, or worse, in the process." Annabeth was never one for violence, so it was a little shocking for Percy to hear her go along with Clarisse.

The green-eyed young man just nodded and turned back to the building. It seemed Athena had already managed to hack into the building. It was very quiet. Percy held his hand out to a set of double doors. He slowly crushed his hand into a fist, the doors responding by bending in towards their center before flying into the building.

That seemed to catch the hunters' attention. Yelling finally came from within the building. As Percy crossed the threshold, he found guns already being aimed at him and his friends. Fire and lightning shot out from Percy's sides and made contact with the hunters that stood before them.

Jason and Apollo lowered their hands as the last guard slumped to the floor, letting out a loud groan. Percy silently motioned with hands down several halls. Some of his friends nodded before dashing off, leaving him with Annabeth and Hazel.

The two girls followed behind Percy as he walked briskly down the dark hall, the lights flickering above their heads. As they passed one room, a doctor came out. Without even turning, Percy held out his hand and squeezed. The doctor's eyes bulged as he was flung back into the room, where he landed on a table of glass beakers.

Annabeth frowned down at Percy's hands as they walked. The young man kept clenching his hands slowly, drawing in each finger separately. "Percy," she whispered.

"I'm fine, Annabeth," he hissed back. He refused to look at her, though. She moved forward to try and catch his eye, but found they were hidden behind his dark bangs.

Two guards rounded the corner, only to be caught by Percy. Their guns were ripped from their bodies and crushed before being flung down the hall. Percy finally looked up, his eyes as black as night. Both of the guards struggled to break free from the invisible grasp as they were raised higher.

"Where are they?" Percy yelled, slamming them both back into the wall.

Annabeth swallowed when she heard a sickening crack from one of their heads.

"Go to hell!" The only one remaining yelled back.

Percy snarled and crushed his fist. The man did not even have time to react before his head was crushed, his brains and blood exploding onto the wall and floor. The Omega dropped his hands, his eyes still dark as he proceeded on.

"Percy, this is not the way to handle this," Hazel pleaded as they walked.

"I don't care."

Laughter. A mocking laughter. Percy whirled around, only to find his two companions standing there. Annabeth's brow furrowed as she stared back at him. "Percy, you need to calm down. What if you end up hurting your friends, or even Nico?"

Percy buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath. She was right, he needed to be in control, or he would not be able to help anyone.

He attempted to reach out with his mind, hoping to find Nico and the others being held here, but ended up with nothing. He did not like this place. He did not like what they were doing to these people. Specials or not, they were still human, and deserved to be treated as such. Not everyone was like Zeus.

Another doctor exited a room and tried to make a run for it. Percy reached out and whipped his hand back. The doctor yelled and fell to the floor, slowly being dragged towards Percy, Annabeth, and Hazel.

As she was raised up, Percy let his eyes return to normal. "Tell me where they are, and I won't hurt you."

The woman gulped and shakily pointed down a dark hallway. "D-down that way."

Percy nodded. The doctor fell to the floor, landing on her back. She sat there, frozen, for a moment before stumbling to her feet and running towards the exit.

They came to a locked, glass door. Percy pressed his hand to the glass. Cracks began to form in its surface before it fell away, swirling inwards. Several doctors looked up as the three entered the room. A few guards took aim at them, but Annabeth and Hazel were already on top of it. The blonde fired off a pulse round, blasting a guard through a side door. The ground shook under a group of three guards before a pillar of stone shot up and knocked them away.

Percy shoved a doctor out of the way as he walked through all of the metal tables. His eyes roamed over each of the unconscious people as he passed. It only served to make him angrier, though. How could people do this to their own kind?

Dark bruises marred all of their skin, many carrying several old needle marks. They looked even more malnourished than when Percy had seen them on camera. "Get them unhooked." No one moved. "Now!"

Several of the doctors threw down their clipboards and began to unhook the IVs that all of the people were hooked up to. Percy's dark green eyes roamed over the room, daring the others to make a move. But he froze when he saw it, his eyes instantly losing every bit of anger.

It was the hair that caught his eye, ahead of black hair that had haunted his dreams for the past year. It had been cut short, though it was already growing out, nearly reaching his eyebrows. There was a bruise on his right cheek, and he too bore the marks of several needles piercing his flesh.

He was so skinny, even more than usual. He looked so small and frail lying there, like he might break at any moment. Percy reached out with a shaky hand to brush the raven haired young man's hair to the side. And then his eyes found something else.

As the brown-eyed young man was only in his underwear, like the others, it was not hard to spot. Dark bruises lined his inner thighs. And a small pool of dried blood lay underneath him, some of it even having dried on his leg.

Percy's eyes flared, his pupils swirling until they covered his eyes in their entirety. He growled and grabbed the doctor that stood on the other side of the table as the man went to unhook Nico from the IV. His fingers slowly crushed the man's neck, his dark voids of eyes staring directly into the man's dark blue ones.

"Don't touch him," Percy hissed.

Blood began to leak from the man's nose. Without a word, the scientist reached down and picked up a scalpel from the table beside Nico's bed. Percy's eyes contracted for a brief second before filling with black again. In silence, Percy watched the man raise his hand and bring the scalpel to his throat. In one swift motion, the doctor sliced his neck open and blood began to pour from the wound.

Percy said nothing, showed no emotion, as he reached down and scooped his unconscious boyfriend up from the table. He turned around to find Hazel and Annabeth staring at him with concern. Percy simply began to walk. "Get the others in here and get them all out. I want to get back to camp."

Annabeth did not argue with him, did not lecture him. She just pursed her lips and pressed a button on her suit.

"What's up?" Came Grover's voice.

"We found them," Annabeth breathed out. "Go get the trucks and bring them around to the building."

Bringing Nico closer to him, Percy made for the door. However, he stopped when Hazel gasped. He turned around to find the girl running over to one of the tables. "It's him, it's him!" She cried.

Percy and Annabeth shared a look as they watched the Omega rip the needle from a boy with light brown hair. He was fairly tall. Not as tall as Percy, but still tall. Like many of the others, he had bruises covering his body. The brunet's build reminded Percy of the boy currently in his arms.

"This is the boy that helped you?" Annabeth decided to ask.

Hazel quickly nodded as she attempted to support the brunet on her shoulder. Annabeth sighed and moved to support him from under his other arm. The two girls had just managed to get him up when a truck came barreling into the wall.

"Fuck yeah!" Clarisse yelled from the other side of the wall.

Percy let out a sigh as the truck drove forward. Grover and Apollo hurried into the building. "Damn, this is a lot of people," Grover mumbled.

"Yeah, we need to work fast." Annabeth hoisted the brunet higher and helped Hazel carry him towards the truck.

Frank frowned at them as he came in. "I guess that's the big hero?"

Apollo chuckled. "Look on the bright side, Frankie. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have Hazel in the first place."

"Shut up." The Asian young man shoved the blond away.

Percy did not move towards the truck. He did not want to put Nico in there. He walked out of the wall and towards the Humvee that he had sat in during their trip up here. Opening the door with his mind, he placed his drugged boyfriend into the seat. He reached over and picked up a large jacket before placing it over Nico's near naked body.

It took a little over half an hour, but they finally managed to get everyone loaded into a vehicle. Percy sat in the back of the Humvee, his eyes never leaving Nico's form. He just wanted the boy to wake up and smile at him, or even yell at him. Percy really did not care, he just wanted to hear Nico's voice, to see him animate. But, for now, he had to settle for the small movements of the brown-eyed boy's chest rising and falling as he breathed. Frank finally cranked the vehicle and they began to roll forward.

They did not make it far before stopping. "Percy, you might want to take a look at this."

Percy frowned and looked away from the unconscious boy next to him. He turned to find several vehicles blocking the road. He frowned and reached out to touch Frank's shoulder. Without a word, he got out of the Humvee.

Sitting on the hood of the lead car was a blonde woman, a bubble of gum currently being blown from her lips. Sunglasses currently rested on her eyes, while her lips were covered in the darkest shade of red lipstick. There were quite a few large men standing on either side of her, none of them carrying guns.

"Ah, you must be the young Perseus I've heard so much about." She flashed a smile, blinding them with her bright teeth. She hopped off the hood of the car and came to stand in front of Percy. "Now then, sugar, I do believe you're making off with our shipment."

Percy frowned as he knocked away her hand, which was trying to fix his hair. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Snapping her perfectly manicured hand, she flashed another smile. One of the men with her moved forward and handed her a file. The blonde woman blew another bubble before opening it and looking down. "Well, it says here that I'm supposed to pick up two Omegas and a whole heapin' of Specials. And I do believe you've got them in your trucks there."

Percy snapped the file closed in the woman's hands. "Well you must be mistaken, _sugar_, because you're not touching any of them."

The woman smiled at him, adjust the sunshades on her face while handing the folder back to the man that handed it to her. "You're even more handsome than I heard," she exclaimed while drawing a nail down the side of Percy's face. "I do hope you change your mind about all of this, it would be a shame to destroy such a pretty face."

"If you're looking for a fight-"

The blonde woman laughed. "Me? Oh heavens no. I'm not much for fighting." She smiled again before adjusting her sunglasses. "No, I'll just have to inform my boss that you're interfering with things...again."

She turned and snapped her fingers. The men that were with her moved aside. One of them opened the car to the limousine that sat in the front and allowed the woman to step inside. She smiled and waved at them before disappearing inside.

Percy stood there and watched as the black limousine pulled away, the convey of cars and trucks following behind it. Letting out a breath, he turned and climbed back into the Humvee. "Who do you think she was?" Frank called from the front.

Percy did not look at him. "I'm not sure yet." His fingers moved slowly through Nico's hair, his brow furrowed as he sat deep in thought.

* * *

The sun would be coming up soon, Percy thought as he stared out his window. He had Nico propped up against his shoulder, checking on the smaller young man every few seconds. Nico had not moved at all, save for his breathing, which seemed to at least be picking up. He would take it, for now.

Frank had finally managed to get them into the woods surrounding the camp. Percy, for his part, would be able to rest much easier once they were all back safely. His leg kept jerking as he sat there, nervously.

"How you holding up back there?" Percy looked up to find Grover watching him. "You look exhausted, brother."

"I'll be fine, I just want to get home." He reached up and rubbed his face. His green eyes ended up meeting Frank's in the mirror. "You okay, man?"

Frank frowned, returning his eyes to the road. "I just don't understand why she had to ride in the truck."

Grover grinned. "Someone's jealous." He smiled at Percy, who managed a weak smile of his own. "He'll be okay, Percy."

The green-eyed young man nodded, his attention already back on Nico. His long fingers ran through the smaller boy's dark hair. He was just glad Nico was okay. It was also good that his hair had started growing back out. Percy knew how angry Nico would be if he had woken up with a shaved head.

He could not help but smile a little. Hair did not matter to him right now. The only thing that mattered was that he got back what had been stolen from him. His brow furrowed as he pulled the jacket back, revealing the boy's skinny legs. How was he supposed to tell Nico he might have been raped? Hell, the boy probably did not even know how long he had been gone.

Percy leaned in and pressed his lips against Nico's forehead as they crossed the border to camp. Frank came to a stop in front of the hospital, where most of the healers were waiting outside. Leo was there as well, head jerking around to get a look inside a vehicle.

As soon as the Humvee stopped, Percy had Nico scooped up and was climbing out. He glared at anyone who tried to take the smaller young man from his arms. Reyna eventually stepped in beside him, while the rest of her team worked to unload the rest of the rescued people.

"Here, I'll get him a room-"

Percy shook his head. "No, you're treating him in the lab. I want him kept under surveillance at all times, so I can know how he's doing."

Reyna pursed her lips and nodded. "Percy, I have other patients to-"

He turned his dark eyes on her, stopping for a split second. "Not. Right. Now. Your job is to treat Nico, nothing more."

The young woman sighed and nodded her head, following him towards the ranger station. "This is great, Percy!" Leo exclaimed as he jogged up beside them. "I mean, not about their condition, but about rescuing so many people."

Percy glared at him when they simply stood in the station. Leo took a second before realizing they were just standing there. He quickly typed in the password and the floor began to descend. "How were things while we were gone?"

"Quiet." Leo shrugged. "Will did a lot of complaining, but he's out of your cabin."

Percy nodded. "Thanks." They came to a stop and Athena projected herself upon the doors opening. "I need you to monitor his condition at all times, Athena."

The hologram nodded. "As you wish, Percy."

"Assist Reyna in her treatments and diagnosis."

He placed Nico on table and stood next to the unconscious boy. Reyna pulled out a small flashlight and pried one of Nico's eyes open. Percy pursed his lips and took Nico's hand. "The drugs should wear off soon. As for when he will wake up, I'd have to assume it would be shortly after." The woman frowned as her eyes roamed his body. "He may have a bruised rib or two, I'll have to do a scan." She swallowed and looked at Percy. "Did he-"

"I don't know," Percy whispered.

Reyna slowly blew out a breath. "I'll do what I can."

"Just heal him. Make him better. Your abilities should fix all of this."

Reyna and Percy stared at each other for a long time in silence, both of their gazes heated. "I can't," she finally retorted.

"Don't give me that crap. Heal him, I know you can."

She let out a sigh. "Percy, I would not advise-"

"Do it!" Percy's eyes were livid as he glared at her. "If he has bruised ribs, heal them. Heal his bruises so he won't have to see them. Make him better, dammit!"

Reyna took in a deep breath, eyes closed, before looking at Percy again. "Percy, I cannot touch him with my powers yet because of his condition. If I do anything to him, it will only make it worse." She sighed and looked down at the boy on the table. "He's very weak, Percy. I can feel how weak his life force is right now, and I would not recommend using on him. But it's not just him, we can't use on any of them. They are in horrible condition right now, and you know how hard our powers can be on the human body."

Percy rubbed at his face. "How much recovery will they need?"

"Hard to say." The woman spoke calmly now as she watched Percy. "I think it will vary on the person, and how long they spent there."

Percy bent over and placed his chin on his crossed arms. His eyes remained on Nico's face, a pained expression now marring the green-eyed young man's face. "I'm staying here until he wakes up."

Reyna shook her head. "You need rest, Percy. You're not going to be any good to him exhausted. Once he wakes up, you'll just want to spend more time with him, and then you'll never get any sleep. I can come and get you when he wakes up, I promise."

He leaned up and kissed Nico's forehead before looking up at Reyna. "I'll just sleep down here. There's a couch."

The healer gave him a stern look. "Percy, you need real rest. Go sleep in your cabin. He's not going to wake up for a few more hours. I promise to come and get you as soon as he wakes up."

"I want to be here when he does."

Reyna sighed and turned to Athena for help. "Percy, I will have you notified when the boy's vitals pick up. You will be able to get here and see him as he is coming around, I assure you," the AI promised.

"I'll be fine down here," the young man mumbled.

"Oh no you won't."

Percy let out a sigh at the sound of Rachel's voice. He turned to find her standing there with her arms crossed. "I don't want to leave him."

"He will be fine, Percy. Let him rest, and get some of your own. He'll be here when you wake up."

Green clashed with green as the two stared at each other. "You told me to forget about him and move on. Why should I listen to you?"

The red haired girl let out a sigh. "When have you ever listened to me anyways?" She walked around the Omega to stare at Nico's unconscious form. "You're as stubborn as I am. And if there's one thing I know about myself, I always do the opposite of what I'm told."

"I hate you sometimes," Percy mumbled as he combed his fingers through Nico's hair.

Rachel just smiled. "I know." Turning on her heel, she fixed the young man with a look. "Now, go get some sleep."

Percy frowned as he looked between the two females around him. They both stared back at him with stern expressions. He sighed and faced Athena, who decided to turn herself off. Traitor, Percy thought. Leo just shrugged and smiled. Percy sighed and nodded.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure I'm here for when he wakes up."

"We will." Rachel was already shoving him towards the elevator. "You'll thank us later, when you're feeling rested and are able to stay awake to talk to Nico."

Leo chuckled. "She's also avoiding Nico beating her ass when he finds out you're killing yourself over him."

"That too." The red head nodded. "Sleep now, boy later."

Percy rolled his eyes as the elevator doors began to close. He attempted to stifle a yawn, though it did not go very well. He found Jason and Apollo walking away from the hospital when he got back to the surface.

"You get Nico taken care of?"

Percy nodded at Jason. "Yeah, he's sleeping right now."

Apollo frowned and pushed his dark locks out of his eyes. "You don't look so good either. You need to get some rest."

The young man frowned and smacked the blond's hand away. "That's where I'm being sent off to. They won't let me sleep in the lab."

The two blonds smiled. "He'll be fine, Percy," Jason assured him. "You have him back now."

Percy sighed before looking at his friend. "I'll get you your sister back, too."

Jason gave a nod. "Thanks."

"Sleep." Apollo gave him a shove. Percy stumbled and turned to frown at the curly haired young man. Apollo just grinned and waved, slinging an arm around his boyfriend's neck.

Back at his cabin, Percy found he was not going to be getting that sleep yet. Will had his back pressed against the door, his arms crossed. The blond frowned at him as he approached. "So, you found him?"

Percy nodded, running a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah," he managed through a yawn.

Will gave a nod, his brow furrowed. "He said anything yet? I'm sure you want to know what happened to him."

The Omega let out a sigh. "Look, I know this is probably awkward, but my invitation for staying still stands. And, no, he's still asleep."

The blond grumbled under his breath. He shoved off of the door and began to chew on his lip. "Oh. Well, maybe you'll get your answers soon."

Percy jerked the blond's arm before he could walk away. "Hey, don't be an ass. I haven't seen Nico in a year, I don't know why you're acting like this."

"Really?" Will quirked a brow.

Sighing, Percy shook his head. "Yeah, I know why you're upset. But, that isn't going to happen. I could still use you around, though." The Special frowned and let his head dip to the side. "Will you stay?"

Blue eyes stared into green in silence. Will blinked every now and then, but said nothing. He finally let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "I'll think about it. That's the best I can give you." He yanked his arm free from Percy's grasp. "However, you should probably know that several in my group probably won't like being here for too long."

"Because they don't like 'our kind'?"

"Look, just because I'm running with them, doesn't mean I share their views." He frowned and tilted his head back. "I know you're a nice guy, Percy, but you'll have to work to convince others that not all Specials are evil. We were introduced to them in a bad way."

The green-eyed young man averted his eyes. "That doesn't make hunting and killing Specials right. You'd be just as bad as the people you're afraid of."

"Maybe," Will sighed. "I'm just trying to keep myself alive, Percy. That's all most people worry about nowadays." Blue eyes flickered up to meet green before the blond smiled. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Percy gave a nod, his eyes fighting to stay open. Will gave a nod back before turning and walking off. Percy let out another yawn before opening his door. Now that it was all over, he felt exhausted. Perhaps the others were right, he did need sleep.

But he could still not fully get his head around it all. Nico was back. He was just a short walk over to the lab. And, soon, he would be back in Percy's cabin, where he belonged. But he had been gone for so long, it hardly felt real. Percy worried that he might wake up at any moment, and Nico would not be there. What if it was just a sick dream?

That had really been why he wanted to sleep in the lab. He wanted to be able to see Nico when he woke up, and be there when Nico woke. It would have helped keep his mind at ease. Still, Percy needed to have faith that things were finally turning around for him.

The young man stretched his arms above his head and groaned when his back popped. He did not even bother removing his clothes before collapsing face first into his mattress. His eyes were now closed and the young man let out a sigh. Sleep took him within an instant.

The next thing Percy knew, he was running through a forest. He was breathing heavily and clutching his arm as he stumbled his way deeper into the woods. When he reached a hand up to touch his forehead, he discovered that it was not his own. There was a sharp intake of breath when blood was found on the tips of the pale fingers in front of him.

His vision was whirled around as voices began to be heard behind him. With a grunt, Percy was moving again. Whoever he was seeing seemed to be heavily injured and unable to run fully. He was quick to notice the limp in the bounce of the vision and slow pace that he seemed to be going at.

As he did his best to sprint through some trees, he found himself at the edge of a cliff. He let out a gasp, trying to catch his balance. It was all in vain, though, when he tumbled forward, towards the river below.

But when he blinked, he found himself falling elsewhere. A city lay below him, ruined, just like the rest of the world. He flipped over in midair and stared up at the skyscraper that he was falling from. He could have sworn he saw someone peering over the edge at him. He yelled and clutched at his arm. Turning to inspect it, he found a deep gash on his arm. The skin seemed burned, though it seemed odd with the gash.

The ground grew closer as Percy was flipped back around. But the impact never seemed to come. Percy's eyes fell closed, and that was all there was.

Percy's eyes blinked open, and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of his cabin. He rubbed at his face and sat up. There was a light beeping noise next to him. When he turned, he found the small, square device that let him know he was needed in the lab blinking.

He immediately jumped out of bed and dashed for his door. Maybe Nico was waking up. The sun was still up, though Percy was not quite sure how long he had been out. From the look of things, he would guess around four or five hours.

He quickly typed in the passcode for the elevator, only to find he typed it in wrong in his haste. He sighed and punched in each key separately. His foot tapped impatiently as he rode down in silence. This was another reason he wanted to sleep in the lab. For all he knew, Nico could already be awake.

The young man frowned when he found Nico still unconscious and hooked up to another IV. Reyna looked up from her clipboard as he approached. "Good, you're here. Nico should wake up shortly, thought you'd want to be here early for it." She watched him frown down at the needle in the brown-eyed young man's arm. "He needs it to clear out his system. I've almost got his system clear."

She walked around the table and pulled out a monitor that hung from the ceiling before typing away on a keyboard. Percy continued to frown, though his expression eased up.

Several minutes passed before Percy began to pace around in front of the table. Reyna gave him annoyed looks from time to time, but he always ignored them. If his eyes were not on Nico, they were on the floor. He was beginning to get impatient.

Athena appeared in front of him, nearly giving Percy a heart attack. "Jesus, Athena. What is it?"

"Apologies, but there's something happening outside that requires your attention."

Percy sighed. "Can't it wait?"

"You do have responsibilities, Perseus."

The young man groaned and turned to Reyna. She smiled. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Percy huffed and jogged towards the elevator. Whatever it was, it better be important, he thought. He found Leo fumbling with his hands upstairs. He grabbed the Latino young man and spun him around. "Leo, what's going on?"

"Um, well, Clarisse might have started a fight with some of Will's group."

Percy sighed and dropped his head. This was just great. He ran out of the ranger station, instantly spotting the large crowd around the pavilion. He worked to shove his way through, until he found Apollo, who was doing his best to keep Jason from jumping into the heated fight.

Annabeth was trying as hard as she could to keep Clarisse and Amphitrite separated, yelling at both of them to stop. Will stood on the other side of the crowd, yelling at his people to "stop being stupid". Clarisse, however, was unwilling to listen.

She currently had Amphitrite pinned to one of the tables by her neck, while several other campers fought with more of Will's group to keep them away from the main brawlers. Percy pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me," he sighed. Clenching his fists, he glared at the two girls fighting. "Shut up!"

Everyone froze. Clarisse instantly released her grasp on the smaller young woman's throat. Amphitrite coughed and sat up on the table, glaring at Clarisse. Jason finally stopped struggling and stood up straight. Annabeth blinked at him a few times before sighing in relief. Will blew out a breath and glanced off to the side, not appearing happy with what had just transpired.

"If you can all stop acting like children for a few moments, we've got people that need treating. And I would like to be spending my time down in the lab, if you don't all mind." His glare fell upon the two main perpetrators. "Don't make me come up here again, or I'll make whoever is responsible regret it."

Amphitrite grunted, rolling her eyes.

Percy thrust his fist out, sending Amphitrite flying from the table. "Don't get an attitude with me, either. This is my camp. This is our home, and I'm letting you stay as guests. I expect you to act more like the adults you are supposed to be." He turned to point a finger in Clarisse's direction. "That goes double for the residents of the camp."

Clarisse glared back at him. "But she-"

"I don't care!" Percy snapped. "Don't make me come up here again. If there's a real emergency, come and get me. However, I'm not going to tolerate this kind of behavior." His green eyes scanned over the crowd. "No more fights."

With a final glare, Percy spun on his heel and marched back towards the ranger station. Just when he thought he had caught a break, more problems get thrown his way. More than likely, this problem was not going to be over. Clarisse was short-tempered, and some of Will's group did not seem that pleasant and tolerant.

Percy froze when he entered the lab again.

Nico was sitting up on the table. His hair was a mess, and he looked very uncomfortable on the table. He looked confused as well, unsure of what was going on. Reyna pulled out a light and inspected his eyes. Nico frowned and looked down when she was done, until he caught sight of Percy.

Everything seemed to stop for Percy now that those brown eyes were staring at him again. He found himself moving forward, and was now at the table. He reached out and touched Nico's face. The boy's lips still looked chapped.

"Percy," Nico finally whispered.

"Yeah." Percy smiled and pulled Nico to him. "I'm here, and you're safe now."

"What happened?"

Percy's heart threatened to break at the weakness in Nico's voice. He clearly had not been speaking for a very long time. "It's-it's a long story, but we can talk about it later."

"Percy." Reyna gave him a stern look. "He needs to know now."

The young man sighed. "Nico," he pulled back and held the young man's face, "you've been missing...for a while now."

Nico frowned up at him, his eyes slightly unfocused. "How long?"

Percy opened his mouth, but Reyna beat him to it. "A year."

Nico's eyes became panicked as they stared into Percy's. "Wh-what?" He drew back. "No, I was just-" He clutched his head and drew in on himself. "But, I was...that can't be right."

"I'm sorry," Percy whispered. "We could not find you after you went to spy on Zeus. It was like you vanished from the face of the earth."

The smaller young man blinked and looked up at Percy. A shaky hand reached up and touched Percy's cheek. "But you found me." His frown became very deep. "Where?"

The green-eyed young man licked at his lips. "Nico, I don't think-"

"Where?" Nico yelled, surprising both Percy and Reyna with his volume.

"A concentration camp for Specials." Percy and Nico held gazes as the green-eyed young man spoke. "I'm so sorry, Nico."

Percy felt Nico shake in his grasp. "For a y-year?" Nico's voice broke as he spoke, breaking Percy's heart.

Reyna pursed her lips and stepped away, giving the two some space. Percy held Nico's face. He had not really wanted to cry for a long time, but this was not easy on him. He did not like having to see Nico like this, or the trauma he knew that was going to follow. "I'm so, so sorry, Nico. I searched the world for you, but you just wouldn't show up anywhere."

The beeping of Nico's vitals became painfully apparent to Percy at this point. Nico's pulse was picking up, as was his breathing. Reyna frowned and typed into her computer. "He needs to calm down."

"I-I was sedated, for a year?"

"Percy."

The young man chewed on his lip as he peered into Nico's panicked eyes. "You need to calm down, Nico."

"Percy, calm him down, or I'll have to sedate him."

Within Nico's eyes, Percy could already see the young man's dark pupils trying to break free from the brown irises. One of the lights flickered in quick succession before going out. Percy held onto his boyfriend and began stroking his hair.

"Nico, you need to calm down. You just woke up, and I don't want them to have to put you to sleep again." He pulled back and looked into Nico's eyes. "I really need you right now. I need to see you up and awake."

The blacks of Nico's eyes shrank back to their normal state. The pale young man's breathing slowly returned to an even pace. Nico finally nodded, brining his knees up to his chest. "Sorry," he whispered.

Percy smiled and kissed Nico's forehead. Nico simply stared back at Percy when the taller young man pulled back. His brown eyes shifted, lingering on Percy's lips. The green-eyed young man smiled and glanced at Reyna, who cleared her throat and walked off.

The green-eyed Special smiled and leaned in, so that his face was inches from Nico's. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. I was really worried about you." His brow furrowed. "I thought-" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, you're back now."

A small smile graced Nico's lips before Percy leaned in and claimed them. He heard Nico let out a sigh of content, and he even felt the boy finally relax. He frowned when Nico pulled back and frowned at him. "I'm sorry," Nico whispered.

Percy frowned as well. "What for?"

"For leaving. I shouldn't have."

The green-eyed young man brushed his thumb against Nico's cheek. "It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you. I should have never let you go." Before Nico had a chance to say anything further, Percy leaned back in and captured the boy's lips again.

Nico sighed again before wrapping his arms around Percy's neck. Percy smiled as he was pulled forward, until he was leaning over Nico. His fingers brushed against the small portion of exposed flesh, the shirt that Nico now wore riding up ever so slightly. When Nico hissed, Percy quickly drew back.

"Sorry. I'm sorry."

Nico shook his head. "It's fine." He leaned up and pecked Percy on the lips before sitting up, his legs on either side of Percy's waist. "I'm glad you found me."

Percy smiled and intertwined their fingers. He brought his boyfriend's hand up to his lips and kissed Nico's knuckles. "I'll always find you."

Nico bit down on his lip and furrowed his brow. He shifted on the table, never breaking their gaze. "And...how are you? Are you...okay?"

Percy swallowed. Nico remembered his problem. Even when he was just waking up from a coma, even when the focus needed to be on him, he was still concerned for Percy. Percy sighed. "I'm all right." Nico did not look convinced. "I mean, I'm still seeing him...and her now."

There was a sadness in Nico's eyes as he brushed Percy's hair out of his eyes. "Have you been getting help?"

"I've had more important things to worry about."

And then the sadness was gone, replaced by frustration. "Percy, you need to take care of yourself."

"What I _needed_ to do was get you back." He sighed and pressed his palms to the table. "Do you remember anything?"

Nico shook his head. "Not very much. I remember running, and some woods." His brow furrowed, his eyes returning to Percy's face. "And a boy. He helped me. But they...they caught him while we were resting."

Percy held on to Nico's knee, gently rubbing it. "Well, you're safe now. I'm sure it'll all come back to you with time." He pressed a quick kiss to Nico's lips. When he pulled back, he smiled when he received a whine from Nico. He chuckled and kissed the boy again. "I'm really glad you're back."

* * *

_Nico is back, hooray. Your hearts can all melt at the cuteness with Percy and Nico. There will be plenty of nice little moments to come between the couple, since Percy is being all concerned for Nico's wellbeing. I actually enjoyed the part with Aphrodite, yes the woman blowing gum. Knowing her and her powers made me happy to write her. And I enjoyed giving her a bit of a dialect. Bragi seemed to enjoy Percy making the doctor killing himself, but he's just sadistic. So, of course, I want to hear thoughts. Nico's back, so I'm sure there will be plenty of excitement over that. Don't worry, I was never going to keep him away for too long. But, I'm going to get some sleep. It's now 5:30 in the morning here, and I need to crash. And then do a bunch of writing tomorrow. So I will see you all later._


	5. Chapter 5

_And I'm back with another chapter. I've made some recent changes to my profile, so that you guys can keep track of what I'm doing. I've been getting a lot of messages, asking about when I'll have the next chapter of such and such story out. Well, here's where you can get an estimate. And I know I'm running behind with my work, and I apologize for that. Now on to some other news._

_I will be doing another Halloween fic this year, as can be seen on my profile. It'll be different from the one last year, but I'm hoping to keep the same level of darkness to it. It'll just be of a slightly different genre. Also, Genesis got a little tweeked. It's a little shorter now. We won't go into all the details, but I just thought it should be known. It may feel rushed at times. This is mainly due to a new story I'm wanting to publish. It's not the one I'd said I'd publish after Children, though. I'd like to get it out by Halloween, mainly due to the theme. Think of it as a multi-chapter Halloween fic. Just don't expect all the creepy stuff immediately. I think that's about it. As always, thanks for the reviews, I really do appreciate them. And I'll see you all at the bottom._

_Warning: Hints of rape, language, slash._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 5

Percy's hand was nearly crushed as Reyna inserted a needle into Nico's arm. Percy smiled and gave the brown-eyed young man's hand a squeeze. "Why can't you just-Ow! Why can't you just heal me? I can walk now."

Reyna let out a sigh and began to take a sample of the boy's blood. Her dark eyes flickered up with an annoyed look. "Stop your fussing, you'll make it harder." Nico glared at her. "And I have been healing you. Stop your whining. I just need to take progress reports on your condition."

Nico gave a pout in Percy's direction. The taller of the two males just leaned in and pressed a kiss to the other's cheek. Nico let out a sigh and hung his head, resigning himself to letting Reyna do her job. Almost a week had passed since Percy had brought him back, and Nico had just gotten to where he could get healing from Reyna two days ago. Percy, for his part, had been spending what time he could in the lab.

But that had ended up being far less than he would have liked. It seemed like he was needed for just about everything, as of late, and the others did not hesitate to bring problems to him. He was starting to think that they sensed his change in moods, since Nico's return.

And if sensing Percy's thoughts, Nico turned to him. "Don't you have to help with the leak over at the water station?"

Percy squeezed the boy's hand again. "Took care of it this morning so that I could be here for this."

Though the boy turned away, Percy caught that Nico's lips tilted up slightly. It vanished for a brief moment when Reyna pulled the needle from his arm. Nico's shoulders relaxed once it was over with. He looked much better, in Percy's opinion, since Reyna had begun her treatments. Most of the boy's bruises had vanished. A few scars from all the needles he had been injected with still remained, though they were only noticeable if someone was really paying attention.

The only thing that Reyna was not going to be able to fix was Nico's malnourishment. The young man was still so frail looking. But Percy was doing his best to make sure Nico ate healthy and often.

Percy let out a sigh. "When can I take him back to my cabin?"

Reyna looked up from her data-pad. She studied Nico for a moment before shrugging. "Tomorrow perhaps? The day after at the latest. He's fine, for the most part. I'll just need him to come see me for continued observation."

Nico let out a sigh. Percy tossed him a look and the boy rolled his eyes. "I'll be there," Nico mumbled. Percy smiled and pecked him on the lips, which Nico happily accepted.

When the two were done with their kiss, Percy turned to Reyna, who cleared her throat and looked away. "I'll, uh, leave you two alone, I suppose." As she made her way out, she stopped and turned to face them again. "Just make sure he eats and gets plenty of rest." She narrowed her eyes. "No sex."

Percy rolled his eyes. "We haven't even gone that far yet."

"Just making it clear." She pointed her finger at the green-eyed young man. "You need to go check in with our rations crew at some point today."

Percy rolled his eyes again, waving her off. "Yeah, yeah. I got it, now can we have some peace?"

Reyna sighed and shook her head, continuing towards the elevator. Percy turned to Nico with a smile. The boy's brown eyes lowered to Percy's lips right before the older of the two closed the distance between them. The green-eyed young man clasped Nico's hair. It was so short now, he thought.

Nico was the first to pull back, though his eyes still remained locked to Percy's, now slightly swollen, lips. "When are you going to tell me the rest of the report on me?"

Percy pursed his lips, looking away from Nico's brown orbs. He had been avoiding this topic the entire time. But Nico had noticed the condition his thighs had been in within a few hours of waking up. Percy, not wanting to upset Nico more than needed at the moment, chose to do his best to keep it quiet as long as possible.

"Can't we talk about it some other time?" Percy reached down and slid his hand into Nico's. "You need more rest."

"I slept for the past year. I've barely slept at all since I got brought here, save for the first twenty-fours of me being here." Nico's brow furrowed. "Just tell me."

"I don't want you to freak out," Percy whispered.

Nico began to chew on his lips, his eyes now staring at the medical table he sat on. "If you tell me, I'll tell you what happened right before I got sedated and captured."

Percy looked up suddenly. "But you said you didn't remember."

"I didn't, when you asked. But, lately, it's been slowly coming back in pieces."

"Fine," Percy whispered. He looked up at Nico with dark eyes. "But I don't like this. You're going to get upset, and I don't even have a definite answer."

Nico shook his head. "I just want to know, Percy. I already have my suspicions, I just want confirmation."

Percy sighed and kissed the boy's shoulder. "But that's something I can't give you, not until we know for certain."

Nico finally looked up at him, though he kept his head lowered. "You already know the answer. Just tell me. It's not like I'm going to be angry with you, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done."

Percy's hand shook as he squeezed his boyfriend's pale one. "I don't want to have to accept that it happened to you," he whispered.

Nico's hand touched his cheek, silently asking him to look up. He was met by a pair of tear filled eyes. "I need to know. And I need you to help me get through it." He swallowed and licked his lips. "I don't...I don't remember anything that happened at the lab. I feel angry and upset, but I don't know where to direct these feelings."

Percy reached up to touch Nico's hand. "Direct it at me. I should have-"

"Done what?" Nico sighed. "You couldn't have done anything, since you didn't know where I was. And I'm just happy you didn't try storming Zeus's place."

"The thought crossed my mind," Percy mumbled. A small smile touched at Nico's lips. He let out a sigh and kissed Nico's temple. "Do you really want to know this?" Nico nodded his head. Percy let out a sigh and squeezed Nico's hand. "We think...we think you were raped."

Nico was silent, his head lowered. He gave a small nod, and Percy heard a quiet sob escape from his throat. The young man quickly embraced the young man on the table and rubbed circles in his back. Nico's arms wrapped tightly around Percy's neck as he began to cry.

"You're safe now," Percy whispered into his boyfriend's hair. "And I'll never let anything like that happen to you again." He pulled back and wiped the tears from Nico's eyes.

The boy's brown eyes found his green ones. "I just wanted," his cheeks grew red as he spoke, "you to be my first."

Percy placed a kiss to the boy's temple before resting his chin on top of Nico's head. "I can still be the first that matters." He pulled back with a soft smile. "You're going to be okay?"

Nico rubbed at his nose before nodding. "I just need some time, especially before we do anything."

The green-eyed Special leaned in and captured Nico's lips. "Take as long as you need. I'm not going anywhere."

Nico bit down on his lip, while looking at Percy's. "You really don't need to say things like that."

Percy chuckled. "And why is that?"

"Because you just make yourself more desirable." The boy narrowed his eyes. "And I don't need people like Will snatching you up."

Percy sighed. "You're still upset about that?"

"He was in your cabin."

The young man let his head loll off to the side. "On my couch, and nothing happened." He pressed a quick kiss to Nico's pale lips. "I was worrying too much about you to focus on much else."

Nico did not look any less happy. "I still wish you'd make him leave."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I think he should be unhappier about your return. You almost killed him the last time you two saw each other, in case you've forgotten." He leaned in and kissed Nico again. "Stop worrying. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere."

Nico huffed and crossed his arms. "It's not you that I'm worried about. I trust you." A pale finger was pointed towards the elevator. "It's him I don't trust. It's him that I'm upset with for sleeping in your cabin. He could have snuck into your room and molested you."

Percy chuckled. "I don't think he would have."

"You two used to be intimate."

"And now we're not," Percy reminded him. "Stop worrying." He frowned when Nico did not ease up. "Can we get off the subject? We were just talking about important things."

Nico sighed and nodded his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. He took Percy's hand into his own. "I'm happy that you're going to be around, really I am. I think it'll be easier on me to deal with," he gestured to his legs, "this."

Percy watched, in sadness, as a look of depression overtook Nico. The boy's shoulders slumped and he pulled his legs up to his chest. Percy wrapped his arms around the boy's small waist. He let out a sigh, while stroking Nico's leg with his thumb. "So, what is it you remember?"

Nico's brow furrowed, his eyes studying his lap. "I remember most of it, or part of most of my time after leaving." Percy remained silent. Nico finally looked up at him. "I remember sneaking into Zeus's headquarters. I remember a man and a woman. The man was rather muscular. I think the woman might have been something to Zeus." His brow furrowed again as he met Percy's gaze. "His wife, perhaps?"

Percy frowned. "Athena," he spoke, keeping his eye contact with his boyfriend.

The AI appeared behind him. "Yes, Percy?"

"Do you know if Zeus was married before the world fell apart? I mean after Jason's mom left him."

The data in Athena's eyes began to rotate, coding moving across her body. "Records indicate that he did in fact get remarried, barely a year after divorcing Jason's mother." The hologram touched her chin. "She too seems to be a Special."

"Probably her," Nico mumbled. He let out a breath. "When I got discovered, she seemed to be doing something to Zeus. She seemed so...focused." He licked his lips. "And the man...he did something to me. I had this horrible anger, burning inside of me. I wasn't thinking rationally during my fight with Zeus."

Percy turned his head to stare at the boy like he was insane. "You fought Zeus?"

Nico stared up at him in annoyance. "It's not like I had a choice. Apparently, they knew I was there. Don't know how, it's just my guess." He sighed and softened his expression. "Anyways, Zeus injured me and blasted me through some glass windows in his office." The brown-eyed young man shrugged. "He kicked me off the roof."

"And you shadow traveled out?"

Nico cocked an eyebrow. "Yes? How did you know that?"

The green-eyed Omega rubbed at his face. "I had a dream about it after we got you back. I didn't think much about it, until now."

His boyfriend studied him for a moment before continuing. "Well, I managed to get away, but I was pretty injured. I had a hard time even walking, let alone the energy to port myself back here." He let out a sigh, grabbing a handful of his cloth pants. "And with the way things are now, I didn't have much luck finding medical supplies. Zeus picked Los Angeles clean."

Percy ran a hand through Nico's short, black locks. "You said someone helped you, a boy."

Nico gave a nod. "Alabaster."

Percy's lips tilted down. "You mean the same guy that helped Hazel escape?"

The boy on the table shrugged. "Maybe? Thin, tall, freckles?" Percy gave a nod. "Yeah, probably the same guy." The boy let out a breath. "He managed to get some supplies before he found me. He said he took them off of Zeus's men. He healed me up the best he could, and we were making our way north, back here."

"So, I owe him thanks for at least getting you out of harm's way."

"Though he failed to keep him from it," Athena interjected. Nico shot her a dirty look. "I am merely pointing out the obvious."

Nico sighed, rolling his eyes. "He was a lot of help. He stayed up, when we set up camp, and made sure I was healing."

It would have been fine, but Percy did not like the small blush that appeared on Nico's cheeks. "And that's all that happened?" Percy narrowed his eyes, studying the boy's reaction.

The short, raven haired boy blinked. "Yes? It was only for a few days, and then we got ambushed."

Percy's jaw was firmly set, and he chose to cross his arms tightly over his chest. "Sounds like a nice guy. Maybe I'll go thank him myself."

Nico's shoulder slumped. "Percy, we didn't do anything. Nothing happened. Why are you being jealous?"

The tan young man shrugged. "I'm not jealous."

"Yes you are." Nico reached out and took his hand. "I wanted to get back to you, I wasn't thinking about anything with me and him."

"Doesn't mean there wasn't anything there."

Nico sighed and attempted to pull Percy closer to him, but the taller of the two's larger size gave him the advantage to resist. "Percy, don't be like this. I swear, nothing happened. I don't know if he likes me, and I didn't find it relevant if he did. I was just concerned with surviving."

"Like keeping warm at night?" Percy grumbled.

Nico let Percy's hand fall from his grasp. "You're being very rude right now, I don't like it." His dark eyes narrowed. "Maybe we should talk about the rest later, when you're not being an inconsiderate asshole."

Percy huffed. "Like you're being about Will?"

"That's different," Nico interjected. "There's history with the two of you. I had just met Alabaster, and nothing happened between us."

"And nothing happened with me and Will, since he's been here."

Nico shook his head and looked away. "I think you should go." He pulled his legs up to his chest. "I'll give the rest of my report to Annabeth, since she won't bite my head off when I have to talk about the rest of my time with Alabaster."

"Whatever," Percy mumbled. Nico's shoulders slumped as his boyfriend turned to walk out of the lab.

He was not sure why he had gotten so upset about the whole thing, but he had. And that blush. Was he lying to Percy? Was he? It was all that kept repeating in the back of his head. He wanted to know the truth. But he could, he reminded himself. All he had to do was read the boy's mind, and then...

Percy quickly shook his head. He had sworn to Nico once that he would refrain from doing that, and he meant to keep that promise. Even if that meant suffering in doubt.

He frowned as the elevator came to a stop at the surface. Slipping his hands into his pockets, Percy made his way towards the building they used for ration storage. Several residents waved over at him as he passed. He smiled and waved back. Even if he was a bad mood, things could be worse. At least he had his boyfriend back, even if they were fighting.

"Hey, Phoebe," Percy spoke upon entering the small building. A short, beefy girl with a braid looked up from her clipboard. "Reyna said you wanted a word?"

"Yeah." The girl nodded and scribbled something down. "So, as you know, it's getting that time of year again. We should be putting more back for winter." She let out a sigh and looked at some of their stock. "And with these new additions, we'll need to do a better job at stocking up."

Percy nodded his head as he listened. "Well, we still have plenty of time. Winter isn't for a few months." His eyebrows rose when the girl gave him a look. "Um, I'll get some more people out getting things." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

Phoebe was scary at times, as Percy quickly learned after meeting her. She was one of the few people who could give Clarisse a run for her money in arm wrestling, even if she did not have any powers. That part probably made the entire ordeal more interesting.

The girl just grunted and went back to checking things off on her clipboard. Percy took that as his sign to leave. He sighed and debated going back to his cabin. He had not been there much the past few days, as his time was mostly split between working around the camp and keeping an eye on Nico. A nap did sound nice. But he decided to put that thought on hold when he caught sight of a brown head of hair.

Alabaster sat on some grass, his arms out behind him. Hazel sat beside him, laughing at something the brunet was saying. Percy took in a deep breath before changing course. Best to get this talk over with, he told himself.

Hazel's eyes widened when she spotted Percy. She went to nudge Alabaster with her arm, who looked up at him. The boy blinked. "Hi, um, you must be Percy, the guy that runs the camp?" England was the first thing that came to mind for Percy upon hearing the guy talk. The thin boy got up and dusted his shorts off. Smiling, he held out a hand for Percy to shake. "Alabaster Torrington."

"Yeah, that's me." Sea-green eyes stayed locked with the boy's bright green ones. "So," he looked between the brunet and Hazel, "what were you two talking about?"

"Oh, you know, just catching up." Hazel nodded in agreement with Alabaster. "Thanks again for pulling me out of there."

Percy gave a nod. "I hear I have you to thank for helping Nico."

The brunet sighed. "Well, it would have been better, if we hadn't gotten ambushed. Nico seemed pretty anxious to get back here. And now I see why," the guy smiled as he looked around," this place is nice. And secluded, which is also a plus."

"Thank you, for helping Nico that is."

Alabaster smiled again. "My pleasure. He was pretty cute, too. I don't suppose I could see him, could I?"

Hazel let out a groan. "I was just about to tell him," she whispered.

Green eyes blinked, turning around. "Tell me what?" Alabaster inquired.

"That Nico has a boyfriend."

"Oh." The brunet chuckled. "Is he hot? Can I take him?" He winked in the girl's direction.

Percy crossed his arms over his chest. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Alabaster's face quickly drained of color. "Oh shit. I-I didn't mean to, um...you know, step on toes." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just making an observation, you know? And besides, it's hard to find anyone of interest in times like these." Chuckling again, he took a step back from Percy. "I, um, don't suppose we can forget about that comment of mine?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Just don't make trouble. But you're an Omega, yes?"

Alabaster eyed him cautiously. When Percy finally uncrossed his arms, the brunet relaxed. "So they tell me."

"So, what can you do?"

Alabaster smirked. "You first, big man."

Percy rolled his eyes before looking back at Alabaster. Sea-green eyes dilated. "You can destroy objects by speeding up their molecules."

The brunet blinked at him in surprise. "Um, yeah." He blew out a breath. "A telepath, eh? Well fuck me then."

Percy's jaw locked. "Yeah, like you wanted to do to Nico at your camp that night."

The boy's face went red. "I, um...See, I didn't know he was dating anyone. Nico didn't really talk much about his personal life."

Hazel's brow furrowed. "Percy, leave him alone. You know you shouldn't go poking around in people's heads like that."

The raven haired young man sighed. "Sorry," he mumbled. His eyes flickered back to Alabaster, who was a combination of embarrassed and awkward. The brunet kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Just don't go blowing stuff up, and we'll be cool." His eyes narrowed. "And don't try anything with my boyfriend."

Alabaster swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. Hazel narrowed her eyes. "Percy, behave."

Percy kept his gaze locked with the brunet for a few seconds longer before turning and walking away. He grunted as he slipped his hands into his pockets. He already did not like this guy. And maybe he was being childish, but at the moment, he really did not care.

And if things had not been frustrating enough, Will stepped in beside him and nudged his shoulder. Percy let out a sigh. "It's really not a good time, Will."

The blond frowned. "I just wanted to say hi. What's got you so irritable today?"

"Not important." He ran a hand through his hair. "Something I can do for you?"

Will's traditional bright smile crept onto his face. "Would you want to spend some time together?"

"I don't think Nico would like that. He's already irritated."

"With you?" The blond scoffed. "That's not very nice. You're too nice a guy to be mad at." He stepped in front of Percy, forcing the raven haired youth to come to a stop. "So, why not spend some time with me, take your mind off things?"

"Because he doesn't like that you're here."

"Oh." Will's eyes shifted. "Well that's not good. You would think it would be the other way around."

Percy's eyebrow rose. "And it's not. I know you're not happy I found him."

"Only because you never spend time with me now."

Percy's hand raked through his hair again. "I just need to keep things in order with Nico right now. But...maybe. Some other time, though."

Will sighed. "I'm not sure I want to hold you to that."

The Omega rolled his eyes. "I'm not in the best of moods right now, Will. Is there something else I can help you with?"

Blue eyes narrowed at him. "That's nice, be a jerk. I'm trying to be friendly, and you react like this." The blond crossed his arms. "I knew you before him." The blond's arms began to flail. "Fuck, I knew you before any of this, before you even knew what you were."

Percy's brow furrowed. "What I am? I'm still human, Will?"

Will sighed and looked away. "I didn't mean it to sound like that."

Massaging his temple did not seem to help. "I'm going to go. I need some time to think." Green and blue eyes met. "I'll see you later."

"I'd hope so," Will mumbled, stepping aside to let Percy by.

Percy stared at his cabin, heading towards it. Could he not get a moment of down time? Did everything have to go wrong at the same time? Was the fact that they were already fighting, just a few days after being reunited, a bad sign for him and Nico? He did not have the answers. And his cabin would not help him either. He needed a moment to think, a moment away from here.

His eyes found Jason, who was sitting under the pavilion, alone. He needed to remember that he was not the only one with problems right now. He nodded to himself and changed course. Rest would have to wait.

"Hey," Percy said quietly, nudging Jason with his foot. The blond looked up and rested his chin on his palm. "You want to get out of here? We can go see Gaea, see what she knows on your sister."

Jason smiled before nodding. "That would be great." He looked at Percy seriously then. "But are you sure it's a good idea. We still don't know if we should trust her."

"She got me Nico back, I think she's fine. For now, at least. Maybe she can help with your sister as well." His lips scrunched up. "Still, perhaps we'll take Annabeth. You go find her, I'll contact Gaea."

Jason nodded and hopped up from the bench he had been sitting on. Percy watched as the blond jogged off, in search of Annabeth. He sighed and took off for the lab again. Some time away would do him some good. He could clear his head and come back to all of this refreshed.

He found the lab quiet. The door to the room Nico was occupying during his stay in the lab was currently open, the lights out. He could scarcely make out the form of his boyfriend lying on the bed inside. No one else seemed to be in the lab, other than Athena, who could appear whenever she chose.

And right now, Percy needed her. "Athena, can you get me in contact with Gaea, please?"

The AI chose not to project herself, simply turning the large monitor on. The screen was black for several long minutes, until Gaea's office appeared on screen. The woman herself sat down in her chair and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Percy, I trust all is well? Boyfriend safe and sound?"

Percy nodded. "Yes, he's resting right now. We need to talk, though."

"Oh?" The woman smiled as she swiveled back and forth in her chair. "That's good to hear. I trust you remember how to get here?"

Percy nodded and ended the transmission. If he let Annabeth drive, perhaps he could get some rest on the drive. It was better than nothing, and his friends would understand. They were, after all, the ones who kept pestering him to get more sleep.

"Percy," Nico's quiet voice filtered into the room. The green-eyed young man turn to find his boyfriend in the doorway to his isolated room. "Where are you going?"

The question did not sound irritated, but nervous. Percy walked over, but kept a few feet between them. Nico seemed to notice, as his lips tilted down. "I have some things I need to take care of. And I need some time to think."

Perhaps that had not been the best thing to say. Nico bit on his lip, his gaze breaking from Percy's. "Oh." His voice sounded dejected. "I don't want you to go."

A smile touched at Percy's lips. "I'll be back." He reached a hand up to brush against Nico's cheek. "I won't be gone long, and we'll talk when I get back."

Nico nodded and Percy leaned in to kiss Nico on the cheek. The boy's eyes still reflected sadness, his desire for Percy to remain there. But Percy had to go, he had to help Jason find Thalia. And he needed the time to clear his head.

Percy let his hand slide down from Nico's cheek, along Nico's arm, feeling the soft skin. "Get some rest," he whispered.

Leaving the lab ended up being harder than he thought. As he stood in the doorway of the elevator, he found Nico still staring at him, still looking upset. Well, Percy thought, at least it looked like one problem might solve itself. For now, anyways. It was different, seeing Nico like this. Before he had vanished, he had never been the one to bluntly crave Percy's attention. The brown-eyed boy would always keep it at mild hints.

He was upset about everything, Percy needed to remember that. And that's why, while he was leaving to think and talk to Gaea, he did not want to be gone long. Nico was broken, and he needed to be there for his boyfriend.

Annabeth already had a car pulled up by the time Percy got back to the surface. Jason was leaned against the car. "Ready?" He asked.

Percy nodded. He opened the backseat door. "You can take shotgun." Annabeth eyed him in the rearview mirror. "If there are no objections, I'm going to sleep on the drive."

The blonde smirked and began to drive. Jason turned around to smile at Percy, who moved to lean against the window. The young man watched as the camp passed by, and eventually the scenery turned into thick woods. The car was quiet and Percy let his shoulders relax.

Percy was shaken awake by Annabeth. The blonde leaned back. "We're here."

The Omega let out a yawn and stepped out of the car. Sure enough, they were parked outside of the hospital. He nodded and motioned for them to follow him. They were greeted by two guards, who simply let them by without question.

Down in the lab, they found Gaea observing a fluid filled tank. An assistant nodded as he took notes on Gaea's observations. The woman smiled when she took note of them. "Ah, there you are. I trust that your trip went well?"

Percy gave a simple nod. "I don't suppose you've made any headway on Thalia, have you?"

"I have." The woman stood up straight and motioned for her assistant to finish with the tank. "If you'll join me in my office." Percy nodded and he followed after her with Annabeth and Jason. The woman stopped in her doorway. "Just you, if you please."

Gaea stepped inside. Jason yanked his arm when he moved to follow. "And why can't she talk to all of us?"

"It does seem odd, Percy," Annabeth added.

Percy sighed and glanced inside before looking back to his friends. "I know, but she helped us before, and I'm getting her help again." His eyes met with Jason's. "You heard her, she has news about your sister. If I get it, does it matter if she wants to just talk to me?"

The blond huffed. "No," he mumbled.

When Annabeth did not seem to have any objections either, Percy stepped into Gaea's office, shutting the door behind him. The woman was already seated at her desk, sliding her finger along her data pad. She looked up with raised eyebrows. "Problems?"

The Omega shook his head. "So, what have you learned?"

"How is Nico?"

"That's not what we were discussing." Percy eyed her. "I asked about Thalia."

Gaea smiled. "And I asked about Nico. I trust he's doing better?"

"Yes, as I said." His eyes softened. "Thank you, though. It does mean a lot that you helped me find him."

The data pad was placed on the desk. "I figured it would give you incentive to trust me, as well as help you focus on the matter at hand." She stood up and took a seat on the edge of her desk. "Now then, about the girl. I've located her."

"Great." Percy smiled. "Where is she? We'll go get her."

"Vegas, for the time being," Gaea replied. Percy smiled. "But, I'm afraid that won't be for much longer. She's being moved, again. Zeus seems to have found out what happened with your prison break a few days ago. My sources tell me that he's going to be keeping her on a constant rotation, moving her from one facility to the other. You'll need to know the route before anything else can happen."

"And you have it?"

"The next destination, yes. It was all I was able to get." The woman sighed. "I'd suggest making your move while she is in transit. It would be easier, fewer guards."

It was better than nothing, Percy supposed. It could be done. They would get Thalia back. "And she's being taken where?"

Percy did not like the look in Gaea's eye. "That is the more complicated part. To her father, in Los Angeles. I highly recommend you getting her before the convoy gets into the city." Gaea pulled her skirt over her knee. "But we did agree that we would discuss other things, once Nico was safely in your custody."

He gave a simple nod. "We did. What do you want, exactly?"

"Simply to put an end to Zeus. After that, you're free to rebuild society in whatever manner you deem fit." A spark appeared in her eyes. "So long as it is not anything like the one Zeus wants."

"Is that a remark on me being a Special?"

She shook her head with a chuckle. "Not at all. I trust that you'd build a fairer society, a place for both normal people and Specials to co-exist."

"That would be my hope." Percy leaned against the wall behind him. "And what do you get out of this? What are you going to do, should we get rid of Zeus?"

"Just...watch" A smile tugged at the woman's lips. "I trust that you can handle the aftermath of this. But, that's not to say that I would not mind assisting in whenever you might need." She reached back to pat the bun her hair was being kept in. "But, this is only relevant should we succeed. For now, we must focus on the matter at hand: Zeus."

Percy shrugged. "Just get me close to him."

"Easier said than done." Gaea stood up with a smirk. "Now then, I'm sure you know that Zeus has people at his command by this point. There are quite a few. Only one Omega, other than himself, though. So, that is fortunate for you." She arched a brow at the smile on Percy's face. "Do not get cocky, Perseus. He still outnumbers your forces. Torture can be a powerful persuasion tool for getting even the nicest people to aid you."

Percy's eyes darkened. "So that's what he's been doing with the Specials he's been gathering from around the world?" Gaea nodded. "He's going to use them as an army? I don't want to kill innocent people."

A manicured finger was pressed against ruby red lips. "I shall see what I can come up with. Perhaps we can reduce some of their numbers." The finger tapped against the woman's lips. "Incapacitation is another method. No one said anything about killing."

Percy nodded his head. "I suppose. So many people have already died because of this man, I don't want to add more to that list." Gaea hummed in agreement. "But for Thalia, do you have the route they are going to take?"

Gaea smiled and procured another thumb drive from her desk. "I believe you know what to do with this."

The Omega smiled as he took the drive from the woman. "Thank you, again." He sighed and pocketed the device. "I'll contact you again when both Thalia and Nico are fit to fight."

"I look forward to it." Gaea returned to her chair, picking her data pad back up. "A pleasure, as always, Perseus."

Percy found his friends standing outside the door. Jason looked like he might have a nervous breakdown. "So, what did she say?"

Percy showed them the thumb drive. "She's being transported, but I have the route on here. We'll set up an ambush and get your sister back." He smiled and clapped Jason on the shoulder. "Don't worry man, she's going to be okay."

"Back to the camp then?" Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, we need to prepare."

The drive back felt excruciatingly long. He did not know if his head was clear, but he was ready to return to camp. Percy had handed the thumb drive over to Jason, who kept fiddling with it in his lap. Percy was just glad to see the relief on the blond's face. It was a nice reminder of why he was doing this: to help people.

"Oh my god."

Percy's head jerked up at the tone of Annabeth's voice. His eyes soon filled with panic at the scene that lay on the horizon. Smoke rose from the woods surrounding the camp. In the setting sun, Percy could see the bright lights of fires burning. "Drive."

Annabeth did not need further instruction. She pushed the accelerator to the floor and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. This was not good, Percy thought. Their home was under attack.

* * *

_There we go. I hope you're all happy, since I keep getting requests for a jealous Percy in Children. Since it wouldn't fit there, I decided to give it to you here. And, as we can all see, jealousy is not always a good thing. I know you like it, but in a relationship, jealousy can cause a lot of issues. And that's part of what I wanted to address. Relationships are not simple, ever, and they take a lot of work. In doses it has an intense feeling. Being protective over your significant other is another 'good' way of doing jealousy. But running your mouth and acting on it will typically cause problems. Sorry. Tangent. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm off to enjoy the remainder of my night, possibly get some more work done, and I'll see you guys next time._


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